Nick Prosper’s album ‘doomsday’ is an album of the times, focusing on love and keeping sane while being forced to stay inside due to the pandemic. Stylistically, the sounds change from track to track while keeping the album’s moody tone present in each song. The style, however, is where this album really excels. The subject matter of each song matches up with the genre Prosper uses on it, keeping the project interesting and never stagnant.
The album kicks off with ‘love for later’, a simple but fun indie rock song that feels like it was pulled straight out of some Garden State/Juno type movie. It’s about wanting to see someone but being unable to be there physically. The catchy lyrics and bright guitars act as a beacon of light, brightening up the album’s overall dark mood. Both the songs ‘going crazY’ and ‘CONTAGIOUS’ use their punk influence to deal with the frustration of being trapped inside with no control of the outside world. Both are fast and aggressive, as if to show some kind of power against a system he cannot control.
The song ‘apocalypse dance party’ is where Prosper plays into his underground rap influence. This song features a traditional trap 808 and drum machine with a guitar that would feel at home in a GBC album. It is carried by its hook and follows the SoundCloud rapper handbook almost exactly to produce a solid modern rap song. Amazingly, it transitions surprisingly well into the albums closing tracks that are closer to 80’s new wave than anything else.
All this to say, the variety of sounds really holds this album up. Each style is given an appropriate amount of time to be heard without getting old. With artists increasingly incorporating multiple genres into songs, I would argue that the ability to put genres together into a cohesive album is a must for any album in 2020. I would highly recommend you give this album a listen, so many bases are covered it will be hard not finding a song you like.
