While Brockhampton produce some of their best material on GINGER, for every great song there’s a track that’s unfocused and forgettable in equal measure. A lot has changed since Brockhampton’s breakthrough year in 2017. Their “Saturation Trilogy” saw them receive waves of unfaltering positivity, and it’s no wonder why. While a good review from Anthony Fantano certainly helped raise their profile no end, it was their quirky mix of wild characters, catchy hooks and emotional resonance that gave them a wide-reaching appeal. However, that swaggering devil-may-care attitude swiftly subsided in the light of two career-defining moments; their signing to RCA records and the exodus of bandmate Ameer Vann. One would have thought that enough had been said about Ameer at this point, and most fans seem to have moved on. Brockhampton have not. There are points on this album where it seems that Brockhampton are in danger of being defined by their setbacks, and it’s certainly quashed the swashbuckling attitude of their 2017 records. There are only one or two songs that offer respite from the constant melancholy that sweeps through most of GINGER. A song like ‘STAR’ or ‘SWEET’, from Saturation I and II respectively, would have been a welcome addition, as none of the songs on this record ooze with the endearing self-confidence that could be seen on albums gone by, and this absence is hard to ignore. Now it might be suggested that Brockhampton are facing the age-old problem of expectation. For example, after releasing three albums in one year, sites like Pitchfork are now labelling the 11 month wait for this album a ‘brief hiatus’, when a wait of this length is deemed perfectly normal for other artists. Comparisons to the “Saturation Trilogy” may also seem unfair; how can you expect Brockhampton to make another Saturation album when they are at a completely different time in their lives? The point is not that fans wanted GINGER to be “Saturation IV”,
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