My past five blogs have represented the pinnacle of musical artistry, a curation of the finest pieces, a lyrical Louvre. To start the new semester, instead of trying to find more albums with “No Skips,” I will loosen my requirements and review albums that are recommended to me. To add a twist, I’ll be ranking the next five albums blindly. This means I’ll be diving into unknown musical territory, creating a ranking without prior knowledge of which album to listen to next week. So without further ado, here’s RECORDS RANKED.

The first album that I will be reviewing is Travis Scott’s ASTROWORLD.

If Kid Kudi’s Man on the Moon: The End of Day pushes the boundary of traditional hip-hop and the general musicality of rap, Astroworld unequivocally blasts right through it. A symphony to some, a cacophony to others, tracks on this album are bold—creatively using autotune, voice distortions, and synthesizers to create sounds that are completely novel. His use of these devices has been a constant throughout his discography, and is similar to the techniques that fellow artists Kid Kudi and Kanye West employ in their own music. This should not come as a surprise, however, as these two icons have heavily influenced Scott, who has claimed “There is no Travis Scott without Kanye West.”

The latter half of his stage namesake even derives from Kid Kudi’s real name: Scott Mescudi. There is a noticeably increased use of musical “oddities”’ in Astroworld, however, making it one of the most interesting pieces of art to dissect. (To the right, Travis Scott and Kanye West performing Utopia)

With seventeen songs lasting just under an hour, Travis Scott explores every dimension of quirkiness, establishing a psychedelic or “trippy” atmosphere. He consistently employs the aforementioned techniques, but what is often overlooked are the dramatic transformations certain songs undergo. For instance, as highlighted in Vox Media’s “Earworm,” the immensely popular song “SICKO MODE” essentially comprises three songs in one. These sections are differentiated by three vastly different beats, each with its own set of instrument usage. This change can also be found in Track 1, “STARGAZING” and Track 6, “NO BYSTANDERS.”

Astroworld is indeed a trip, and, for the most part, it is a great one. It pushes the listener into an array of complicated emotions and visceral reactions that ultimately culminates in a positive transformation. The listener can experience synesthesia, a confusion of the senses, that opens their eyes and ears. Track 15, “BUTTERFLY EFFECT,” for instance, is the poster child of this effect. There is one bad trip, however. Track 5, “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD” invokes a reaction, but not a pleasant one at all. The listener feels anxious and uncomfortable, a crawling sensation down the spine caused by an eerie synth and ghostly humming. It is my one skip.

I will award Astroworld the second spot on my list of five. This incredibly immersive album deserves all the praise it gets and, in my opinion, is the best in Scott’s impressive discography. I recommend taking an hour to go on this transcendent experience, a journey out of this world and into Astroworld.