CD Reviews

Gucci Mane | The Return of Mr. Zone 6

Brick Squad (2011)

By CARRIE BATTAN | March 23, 2011

3.0 Stars

After a sub-par, commercially warped album, an arrest followed by a brief stint in a mental hospital, and a supremely unfortunate face tattoo, it seemed Gucci Mane had turned a very sad corner. But his latest picks up smack dab in the mixtape-geared sweet spot he'd settled into before his wackier antics took charge. The Return of Mr. Zone 6 is an album pared down to the elements Gucci knows best - sinister beats fueled by snare pellets and twisted, carnival-like synths, deadpanned prioritization of cash over women, and collaboration with a slew of Brick Squad compatriots and friends (we hear everyone from Birdman to Master P to Waka Flocka Flame, many times over). Gucci has refined this formula so successfully, and used it so frequently, that this disc can feel sedated and slightly monotonous, if not interchangeable with a good deal of his endless mixtape catalogue. But the king of Brick Squad's flame is one that burns slow and consistent instead of bright and fast, and The Return gives it some much-needed oxygen to sate diehards yearning for the reliable, slightly more sane pre-2011 Gucci.

Related: Nite Jewel | One Second of Love, Metric | Synthetica, Purity Ring | Shrines, More

Nite Jewel | One Second of Love
Los Angeles songstress Ramona Gonzalez began home-recording dark dance music in 2008, attracting the attention of blogspots and boutique labels with her soulful voice, lo-fi post-disco beats, and distinct sense of weirdo minimalism.
Metric | Synthetica
Of all the Canadian acts that stumbled onto the scene in the early aughts, Metric have been the most consistent in putting out quality material.
Purity Ring | Shrines
Ever imagined what it would be like to hear an angel-voiced woman recite a book of fairy tales in the back of a nightclub at 2 am as drowsy synth lines float through the speakers?
What's F'n Next? Divine Fits
When asked to name the best note for a one-note song, of course Britt Daniel is already sitting at a piano.
Beach House's artful myth
Victoria Legrand opened her notebook and saw the word "Myths." "There were no other words on the page," says the Beach House singer and keyboardist. VJust JMythsM. . . . I hadn't even remembered writing it. It was magical. A total sign."
The Soft Moon | Zeros
Feeling disassociated, darkened, distressed, or just plain different this fall? Don't fret or suffer like the only hope out there for getting lost musically is by listening to early Depeche Mode or jumping on the Kraftwerk revival bandwagon.
Robyn at the State Theatre, January 29
With each of her three 2010 Body Talk EPs armed with a single-of-the-year contender (in the just-slightly-ironic, pop-chart-averse blog-critic sense), it's been hard to ignore Swedish pop star Robyn's status as in indie icon these past 12 months.
Taboo + Ancestral Diet at the Apohadion, March 8
When I entered the Apohadion, the room was nearly dark and the stage was empty.
Ritualz | Ghetto Ass Witch
A genre of music based in darkness is always the most sensitive to light, especially the kind of illumination that comes from the scorching laser beam of pop-culture attention.
Review: Rio
Love drives this animated 3D flight of fancy from Carlos Saldanha, director of the Ice Age series and a native of the title city.
The good Doctor is in (and out, and in ...)
Let's just allow that Doctor Astronaut is a digital maestro, an enjoyable and entertaining wordsmith, a progressive barrier crasher.
Less

Topics: CD Reviews , Master P, Tattoo, Birdman, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

Where To Follow Me
Talking Politics | March 24, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Mo Takes His Turn
March 21, 2013 at 12:59 PM

[Q&A] KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on art, Columbine and having balls
On The Download | March 18, 2013 at 3:22 PM

See this film series: The Belmont World Film Series @ Studio Cinema in Belmont
Outside The Frame | March 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

See this film: This is Spinal Tap [with post-film talk by expert from Acoustical Society of America] @ the Coolidge
March 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM

ARTICLES BY CARRIE BATTAN

MAIN ATTRAKIONZ | 808S AND DARK GRAPES II | September 07, 2011
Following a steady stream of low-budget tracks, mixtapes, and videos posted on their Tumblr this year, the Bay-area stoner rap duo of Squadda B and MondreM.A.N. (a/k/a Main Attrakionz) have raised the stakes by offering up something that resembles a traditional release.

LIL B | I'M GAY (I'M HAPPY) | July 19, 2011
Gone are the endless declarations of hoes on his dick in groups of 30 and 100; gone are the claims that he is everyone from Ellen Degeneres to Miley Cyrus.

SHABAZZ PALACES | BLACK UP | June 09, 2011
The musical reincarnation of Ishmael Butler, the elusive Seattle rapper who makes up one-third of the semi-popular '90s jazz-rap act Digable Planets under the name Butterfly, is a lot to unpack.

FRIENDLY FIRES | PALA | June 07, 2011
For a densely layered, expertly produced dance-rock album, this second full-length from British three-piece Friendly Fires is perplexingly bland.