（原文搬运+翻译）[7.4byPitchfork]嘻哈乐队的第六张专辑重新聚焦于旋律和结构，从而创造了该男团迄今为止最专注和令人印象深刻的唱片-by Matthew Strauss

Something changed for Brockhampton with “Sugar.” The unobtrusive and charming 2019 ballad was the group’s most successful single by many metrics—their lone entry on Billboard’s Hot 100 (No. 66), it was certified platinum by the RIAA and the band’s first song to get an official remix, featuring Dua Lipa, no less. “Sugar” is also their most traditional song, structured to give the showcased members a fitting role. Guest Ryan Beatty sings the inviting chorus; Dom McLennon and Matt Champion rap solid verses; Bearface handles a pre-chorus and the outro; and leader Kevin Abstract sings the bridge. No one is rapping about One Direction, there aren’t loud, conspicuous production gimmicks, and it’s finished in a tidy 205 seconds. In the best of ways, it could be anyone’s song.

Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine, the boisterous yet sensitive hip-hop collective’s sixth album, keep this focus on melody and economy, resulting in their most impressive record. This is Brockhampton at their most efficient, paring back the instrumentals and woebegone attempts at self-examination. Previously, Brockhampton songs were long and incoherent, which made their albums long and incoherent. A signature Brockhampton beat was built with a unique, often wacky, loop: “Boogie” has a whooping siren; “Gold” has an arpeggio; “Boy Bye” has what I can best describe as pizzicato MIDI violin.

The beats are subtler on Roadrunner, with the flourishes dialed down and the emphasis placed on mood: wistful bliss on “Chain On” and “When I Ball,” impassioned swagger on “Bankroll.” Without the vestigial honks and boops cluttering the foreground, the music is sturdy and even sumptuous, as with the suite of “Bankroll,” “The Light,” and “Windows,” all co-produced by Abstract, Romil Hemnani, and Jabari Manwa. On these three songs, the strongest run of the album, you feel the rappers’ brash confidence, no matter if they’re spitting bluster or opening up. It’s enthralling.

Since their inception, Brockhampton have prioritized unchecked creativity and unfiltered self-expression over discipline or structure. It’s why their songs have too many verses, their albums have too many failed experiments, and it’s how you get something like Iridescence’s “Honey,” which feels like a collection of rough drafts sewn together. Roadrunner pressurizes this scattered energy. Only one song—the well-earned posse cut “Windows,” with a thumping Houston-style beat—features a glut of verses, while the others emphasize members’ specific talents, as when Merlyn Wood plays hype man on “Buzzcut.”

The group also continues to blur its line between hip-hop and pop. The rap beats are polished enough to complement the boy-band cuts, which maintain a metronomic quality. The pop song “I’ll Take You On,” in particular, is a triumph, balancing a quietly skittering backbeat with lovesick harmonies. For all of their focus on colorful individuality, they sound best when they finally cohere into a synchronized unit.

Their newfound discipline extends to their signature confessionals. In the past, a Brockhampton song felt like an opportunity to excavate and explicate every possible trauma, but on Roadrunner, their lives peek through in compelling fragments. In the opening “Buzzcut,” Kevin Abstract threads his colorful rapping with evocative mini-scenes: “Thank God you let me crash on your couch,” “My whole family cursed.” He does the same on “The Light,” rapping stray lines like, “I was broke and desperate, leaning on my best friends.” We don’t need much more.

The darkness shows up most strongly on “The Light,” where operatic wildcard Joba describes his father’s suicide and its tormenting aftermath. Joba’s story is not linear, placing the listener into his maelstrom: “At a loss, aimless,” “Hope it was painless,” “I know you cared,” “Heard my mother squealing,” “I miss you.” His vocals are tactfully fuzzed in the mix, not burying Joba’s words so much as submerging him in the music. It’s maybe the most poignant moment Brockhampton have ever recorded.

Elsewhere, they sound liberated. Matt Champion is their best rapper, and he shines here. His lines might not mean a ton, but they’re wonderful to mimic, like when he raps “Nightmares, it’s fright-filled the moment Freddy tuck you in” on “Windows” or the way he punctuates, “This a jam for your whims and your woes/For the people in the back standin’ on they tippy toes,” on “Don’t Shoot Up the Party.” Everyone sounds like the best versions of themselves—focused, committed, inspired. The joy of being a collective bleed into every bar and hook. For a change, it’s a Brockhampton album that isn’t telling you what to think or feel; it just sounds good.

以下为译文（ 大部分为机翻，请多指正）

对于男团来说，《Sugar》发生了一些变化,从许多指标来看，这首低调而迷人的单曲在2019年是该组合从许多指标来看最成功的单曲-这是他们在Billboard的Hot 100（第66名）的唯一一次上榜，它被RIAA认证为白金唱片，并且是该乐队的第一首正式获得各方Remix的歌曲，其中包括Dua Lipa，此外.《Sugar》也是他们最传统的歌曲，其结构旨在每个成员都展现出了合适的角色。Ryan Beatty唱着有魅力的Chorus；Dom McLennon和Matt Champion扎实的Verse；Bearface处理合唱前和副歌；领袖Kevin Abstract唱起Bridge。没有人在Rap像OneDirction那样，反响并不会那么响亮，但引人瞩目的制作手段，都浓缩在这205秒。以最好的方式，它可以是任何人的歌。

Roadrunner：New Light，New Machine（后简称为Roadrunner）,将重点放在旋律和专辑结构上,这是Brockhampton最有效的方法，可以削减乐器和可悲的自我反省的尝试。以前，Brockhampton的歌曲很长且不连贯，这使他们的专辑又长又不连贯。独特的Brockhampton节拍具有独特的，通常是古怪的loop：“ Boogie ”具有巨大的警笛声。“GOLD”有琶音；我最能形容“ Boy Bye ”为“ MIDI拨奏小提琴”。

Roadrunner在节奏上微妙，轻描淡写，强调情绪：在“ Chain On”和“ When I Ball”渴望幸福，在“ Bankroll”热情洋溢的样儿。没有残留的喇叭声和摇摆声使前景杂乱无章，音乐是健全的，甚至可以说是丰盛的，就像由Abstract，Romil Hemnani和Jabari Manwa共同制作的“ Bankroll”，“ The Light”和“ Windows”套曲一样。在这三首歌曲中，这是专辑中最强劲的几首歌，无论说唱歌手是在鼓吹还是在张扬，您都会感受到说唱歌手们的自信。令人着迷。

自成立以来，Brockhampton一直将不受限制的创造力和未经打磨的自我表达置于规则或结构之上。这就是为什么他们的歌曲中有太多的Verse，他们的专辑中有太多失败的实验，这就是为什么会t听到<Iridescenc‘s Honey 》之类的东西，感觉就像是缝在一起的草稿集。Roadrunner对这种分散的能量加压。只有一首歌-得体的剪裁“ Windows”，带着休斯敦式的bumping节拍，其中包含大量的Verse，而另一些则强调了成员的特殊才能，比如梅林·伍德（Merlyn Wood）在“Buzzcut”中当hypeman。

Brockhampton还继续模糊他们在嘻哈音乐和流行音乐之间的界限。经过打磨的Beats以弥补男团作品结构的不足，从而保持了伴奏的品质。尤其是流行歌曲“ I'll Take You On”，完全取得胜利，用相思病似的和声平衡着安静的跳跃backbeat。由于他们专注于多彩的个性，因此当他们最终融合到一个同步的单元中时，它们的声音听起来最好。

他们的新戒条扩展到他们招牌式的忏悔上，过去，Brockhampton的歌曲感觉像有机会挖掘并解释所有可能的创伤，但是在Roadrunner上，焦点聚集在他们引人注目的生活片段上。在一开始的“Buzzcut”中，凯文·抽象（Kevin Abstract）用令人回味的迷你场景生动地讲述了他丰富多彩的说唱：“感谢上帝，让我在你挨你沙发上歇会”，“我的全家人都收到诅咒。” 他在《Light》上做同样的事情，零散的歌词在表达：“我身无分文，孤注一掷，只能依靠我最好的朋友。” 这样的例子在Roadrunner里数不胜数。

黑暗在《Light》上表现得最为强烈，带有歌剧风格的非线性叙事，Joba描述了他父亲的自杀及其后果。Joba的故事不是线性的，使听众陷入了混乱之中：“茫然，无目标”，“希望它没有痛苦”，“我知道你在乎”，“听到母亲的尖叫声”，“我想念你”。他的歌声在混音中显得模糊不清，没有掩盖Joba的话，而是把他淹没在音乐中。这可能是Brockhampton有史以来最凄惨的时刻。

在其他歌曲上，他们听起来很自由。Matt Champion是他们最好的说唱歌手，他在这里闪耀。他的台词可能意义不大，但模仿起来会很棒，就像当他在《Windows》里Rap，"噩梦，弗雷迪给你掖被子的那一刻让人很害怕”，或者他停顿的方式，在《Don’t Shoot Up the Party》里：“这是为你的怪念头和你的痛苦而准备的/那些站在后面踮着脚尖的人”。每个人听起来都像是自己最好的版本--专注，执着，受到启发。作为一个集体的快乐渗透到每一个hook和bar。换句话说，这是一张Brockhampton专辑，它不是在告诉你该想什么或感觉什么;只是听起来不错。