Tyrie – Season 1 (Review)

There are often times when you’ve seen an act perform live and their recorded work is vastly different than when you see them live. I had recently seen Tyrie perform at the Anfernee and Friends show, where he performed most of his debut album, Season 1, and they were almost an exact match. While this sounds like great news, I believe the hits weren’t very hard and the misses were very apparent throughout the project.

Season 1 is the type of project that you can see where someone is headed, but in that it becomes apparent how far they have to go. There is a lot of great inspiration from current artists who are pushing the envelope, both vocally and on production, but the self-produced work is a bit off the mark and in the very early stages of that development.

Going through the project, focusing strictly on production, there are several moments where you think to yourself, this part slaps, but there isn’t the impact that makes some of the production, like the Travis Scott-influenced parts on “Blue Face HND”, really stand out and wow you as a listener. There were several times where I thought to myself, this has the vibe of a notable artist, whether it’s the “3005” by Childish Gambino style production of “Mi Migo”, or the trap r&b vibes in “Drugs 4 Reality”, but missed the mark in its execution.

I think a lot of this fell much less into the arrangement of the songs and much more into the mixing of the project. The things that I felt needed to hit hard really weren’t, and at times, the loudness of the vocals were taking away from the power of the production. Rap music is very kick and 808 forward, and it seems like the all of the melodic elements were considered first, with the thump of the record being an afterthought.

In terms of lyrical content, I do believe there are a lot of great concepts across the project. Many of the things talked about on the project are universal, whether staying true to yourself and your beliefs, or an unrequited love. The highs of Season 1, vocally, are all in the melodies. The rapping parts aren’t a complete turnoff, but as with many other aspects of the project, there is still growth to be realized. Much of the content of the lyrics tackle the transition into adulthood, responsibility for one’s self and growth, as well as finding people to rely on in life. Seems sort of like a coming of age story in the form of an album. This proves doubly true in that it’s somewhat messy, disjointed and a bit hard to find a singular direction in.

At the end of it all, Season 1 seems like the type of project that will exist for you to have an understanding of where Tyrie came from in terms of his sound once it grows into something concrete and more elevated in quality. This project could have been cut in half and given listeners the same experience and takeaways as is with the 48 minute, 13 song effort.

Before I give Season 1 a formal rating, I created a 5 point scale that I used in my last review of Back 2 Da Dub by Jah Jr. Here it is again for review:

No Chill
Lil’ Chill
Pretty Chill
Really Chill
Extra Chill

From me, I’m giving Season 1 a Lil’ Chill rating. I was teetering between that and Pretty Chill, but there is far too much growth required for me to consider this a complete middle of the road release. I think you should check this one out for yourself and keep your eyes peeled for the potential that we hope to see Tyrie unlock.