Earl Sweatshirt is kind of becoming a paradox. To me, he always had the most talent and ambition out of all the Odd Future crew, but consistently since he got out of boarding school, Earl has been putting out projects that are just okay. This is infuriating to me. Doris came out a couple years ago, and that album ended up being one of the most disappointing of that year to me because, again, Earl has so much potential and talent, his albums should be a lot better.
His latest, I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside is a step in the right direction, but it's just too insubstantial to really be great. Also, while the first half is consistently on point, the second half is cluttered with instrumentals, or tracks that just don't stick with me, like "DNA" or "Inside". However, those tracks on the first half are some of Earl's best, and are worth listening to. Especially tracks like "Faucet" which has a smooth and moody beat; Earl goes over some personal details and talks about his family. It's nice to hear Earl being open on this album; it even leads to this LP being one of the dreariest and depressing you're bound to hear this year, with tracks like "Grief" possessing a haunting quality.
Still, with all the good qualities that the first half possesses, the project as a whole just isn't as memorable as it should be. Earl himself, in the chaos of the album's leak, even said this is his "first album" or at least the first album that he's proud to have produced. That sentiment is understandable since this is leagues above Doris in terms of cohesion and quality control, but I just can't bring myself to love this album. It's good, but not great.
I'm still a fan of Earl, and look forward to what he's got planned for the future. Since he's finally making music that is 'Him', maybe we'll get an album that is worthy of being called a classic.
7.0/10
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