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| Length | 38:29 | |||
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Injury Reserve is the eponymous debut studio album by American experimental rap group Injury Reserve, released on May 17, 2019 by Loma Vista and Seneca Village Records. The album follows their three previous projects, Live from the Dentist Office (2015), Floss (2016) and Drive it Like It's Stolen (2017). It is the only studio album released before founding member Stepa J. Groggs' death. A majority of the songs on Injury Reserve were recorded at the group's home studio in Flagstaff, Arizona in January–February 2018. Production contributions during the Flagstaff sessions came from Melikxyz, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua and Technician. The album was finished at Prague in sessions dating from June–July 2018. The album features guest appearances from A-Trak, Rico Nasty, Pro Teens, JPEGMafia, Cakes da Killa, Aminé, Freddie Gibbs, DRAM, Tony Velour and Dylan Brady.
The album's title was . The cover art was taken by Matt Kaplan and shows the three members sitting in a field while a laser is beamed to the right of them.
The album was supported with three singles, "Jailbreak the Tesla", "Jawbreaker", with the album being announced alongside the release of the third single; "Koruna & Lime". Upon release, the album received generally favourable reviews. The album also charted on the Heatseekers Albums chart a few weeks after release.
Background[edit]
By 2018, American experimental rap group Injury Reserve had released three commercial projects.[1] The first two, Live from the Dentist Office (2015) and Floss (2016) were recorded in producer Parker Corey's grandfather's dental office; recording would be done at night, when all the patients had left.[2]
Recording[edit]
The group recorded in multiple different locations. From January 15 to February 8, 2018, Injury Reserve moved to a house in Flagstaff, Arizona.[3] From June 7 to July 7, 2018, they recorded in Prague.[4] According to the album's liner notes, songs were recorded in three other locations: Tempe, Arizona, New York City and Los Angeles.[5]
January–February 2018: Flagstaff sessions[edit]
In January 2018, the group moved from Phoenix, Arizona to a home studio in Flagstaff, bringing all of their studio equipment with them. According to Corey, the setup was inspired by the rap camp used in the production for Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010).[6]
Most of the songs on the album were recorded on the first week: these include "Jailbreak the Tesla", "Wax On" and "New Hawaii".[7]
June–July 2018: Prague[edit]
Post-recording edits[edit]
The beginning of "Koruna & Lime" initially contained a sample of a Nicki Minaj clip where she says "You bitches can't even spell Prague", referencing the location it was recorded in. In retrospect, producer Melikxyz said to Complex, "I wish it could’ve stayed, but I think it still worked out for the best."[8] Groggs' verse on that song was originally intended for "Gravy & Biscuits", but was moved to "Koruna & Lime" once the bridge/chorus was created. Ritchie's verse from the scrapped song recorded in Flagstaff titled "Geek Squad" featuring Tony Velour on the hook; Ritchie described it as being "all over the place."[9]
The original version of "What A Year It's Been" contained a hook in between the first and second verse. It was removed right before the album was turned in because, as Ritchie put it, "it felt too fake epic".[10] he elaborated by saying that cutting those hooks "helped the message resonate a little more."[10] In the mixing of the album, which lasted from until around August 2018, the song was mixed four seperate times.[11]
Musical style[edit]
The album has been described as experimental rap.[12] According to Mike Vinti of The Quietus, the album blends the industrial experimentation of artists like Death Grips and JPEGMafia, with elements of boom bap and old school hip hop.[13] The group themselves felt that a full-length album would allow them to express a wider range of emotions. Ritchie with a T explained in an interview with Loud and Quiet that their mindset couldn't be put in a three minute song.[14]
Tracks 1-7[edit]
The album opens with third and final single "Koruna and Lime"
"Jawbreaker"
"GTFU"
"Jailbreak the Tesla" . "Rap Song Tutorial"
Tracks 8-13[edit]
"Wax On" contains chimes that were described by Jamie Haworth as having a "jittery, paranoid quality".[16]
When it comes to the arrangement of the album, Ritchie says that he was inspired by Earl Sweatshirt's Some Rap Songs (2018) in the arrangement of the hooks on "What A Year It's Been".[17]
The album ending, "Three Man Weave", was described as a "feel-good success anthem".[18]
Lyrical themes[edit]
In Chris Deville's review of Injury Reserve's second studio album By the Time I Get to Phoenix, he notes that "Jailbreak the Tesla" outlines a "customised futurist manifesto".[19]
Artwork and title[edit]
The cover art, taken by Matt Kaplan and designed by Parker Corey,[5] shows the three group members sitting in a field in Malibu with a green laser beaming near them to the left. According to Corey, The inspiration for the album artwork came from the Hartmut Skerbisch work "Laserstahl".[21]
In the group's interview with Complex News, Ritchie explains that the album has the ambition and personality of their previous works, while also featuring technical approach. He added by saying: "This is the music we're trying to make, and that's why putting the name on it is both refreshing [and] telling."[22]
Release[edit]
The first single on the album, Jawbreaker, was released on January 24, 2019.[23] On March 21, 2019, Injury Reserve released the second single from the album, "Jailbreak the Tesla", uploading a music video on YouTube the same day.[24] A month later on April 18, 2019, Injury Reserve announced that the album would be released on May 17, dropping the third and final single from the album, "Koruna & Lime", on that same day.[25]
All singles were released with music videos.
In the week marked July 6, 2019, Injury Reserve charted at number 14 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart, spending only one week on the chart.[26]
Critical reception[edit]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.7/10[28] |
| Metacritic | 75/100[27] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[29] |
| The 405 | 8/10[30] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[31] |
| Loud and Quiet | 9/10[16] |
| Pitchfork | 6.8/10[12] |
| Highsnobriety |   [32] |
Critical reception to Injury Reserve was generally favorable. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album earned a score of 75 out of 100, based on 7 reviews.[27] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 7.7 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[28]
Much of the praise was directed at Corey's production. In a positive review for the album, Chris Dart of Exclaim! called him "Injury Reserve's real driving force",[29] and Kyle Kohner of The 405 wrote that Corey "mix[es] things up with some of the most wonky-sounding production you will hear outside of Death Grips", while also comparing it to PC Music acts such as Sophie.[30]
Sheldon Pearce was more reserved in his assessment for Pitchfork, giving the album a 6.8/10, and wrote that while the album feels "remarkably fresh and singular" when Corey is at his best, "neither Ritchie nor Stepa are particularly groundbreaking MCs" and that they are both "regularly shown up by their guests". He concluded that Injury Reserve "gets stuck between its experimental urges and its pop ambitions" too often, calling the album "never quite noisy enough or quite catchy enough".[12] In his review for The Quietus, Vinti said that the album "encompasses everything great about the last forty years of rap music while simultaneously managing to sound totally distinct from it.[13] Haworth mentions in his interview with the group that the album is defined "as much by its sincerity and its humour."[14] Colin Joyce of Vice states that the group adopts "a rap-smarter-not-harder approach."[33]
Accolades[edit]
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loud and Quiet | The Loud and Quiet Best 40 Albums Of 2019 | 18 | [34] |
| The Michigan Daily | The top 25 albums of 2019 | 25 | [35] |
| Complex | Top Albums Of The Year (So Far) | 34 | [36] |
| The Line of Best Fit | The Best Albums Of 2019 Ranked | 37 | [37] |
| Highsnobriety | The Best Albums Of 2019 (So Far) | * | [38] |
Aftermath[edit]
Track listing[edit]
Adapted from liner notes. All songs are produced by Injury Reserve unless noted.[5]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Koruna & Lime" (featuring A-Trak) |
|
| 2:26 |
| 2. | "Jawbreaker" (featuring Rico Nasty and Pro Teens) |
|
| 3:28 |
| 3. | "GTFU" (featuring JPEGMafia and Cakes da Killa) |
| 3:20 | |
| 4. | "QWERTY Interlude" |
|
| 0:32 |
| 5. | "Jailbreak the Tesla" (featuring Aminé) |
|
| 3:19 |
| 6. | "Gravy n' Biscuits" |
| 2:37 | |
| 7. | "Rap Song Tutorial" |
| 2:22 | |
| 8. | "Wax On" (featuring Freddie Gibbs) |
|
| 4:27 |
| 9. | "What a Year It's Been" |
|
| 3:33 |
| 10. | "Hello?!" |
| 1:06 | |
| 11. | "Best Spot in the House" |
|
| 3:18 |
| 12. | "New Hawaii" (featuring DRAM, Tony Velour and Dylan Brady) |
|
| 4:35 |
| 13. | "Three Man Weave" |
| 3:26 | |
| Total length: | 38:29 | |||
Samples
- "GTFU" contains a sample of "Aeons", written by M. Te Kahika and D. Wright, performed by Electric Wire Hustle
- "What a Year It's Been" contains samples of "13 Angels Standing Guard 'Round the Side of Your Bed" by Silver Mt. Zion.
Personnel[edit]
Adapted from liner notes.[5]
- Jeff Ellis - mixing
- Efran Hajy - assistant mixing
- Mike Bozzi - mastering
- A-Trak - scratch (1)
- Yazmeen Al-Mazeedi - strings (12)
- Stephen "Jonah" Feigenbaum - string arrangement (12)
- Phonte - ad-libs (13)
- Injury Reserve – Executive producer
- Nick Herbert – Executive producer
- Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua – Executive producer
Packaging
- Matt Kaplan - artwork
- Parker Corey - artwork design
Charts[edit]
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[41] | 14 |
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Haworth 2019a, paragraph 3.
- ^ Becker, Olivia (1 June 2017). "Injury Reserve Are the Latest Weirdo Internet Rappers — But They're Actually Good". Complex. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 11 September 2021 suggested (help) - ^ Green 2019, Chapter II: Flagstaff.
- ^ Green 2019, Chapter IV: Prague.
- ^ a b c d Injury Reserve (Media notes). Injury Reserve. Loma Vista Recordings. PRO-LVR00701.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Green 2019, Chapter II: Flagstaff; paragraph 1-2.
- ^ Green 2019, Chapter II: Flagstaff; paragraph 8.
- ^ Green 2019, "Koruna & Lime" & "Gravy n Biscuits"; paragraph 2.
- ^ Green 2019, "Koruna & Lime" & "Gravy n Biscuits"; paragraph 4.
- ^ a b Green 2019, "What A Year It's Been"; paragraph 2.
- ^ Green 2019, "What A Year It's Been"; paragraph 4.
- ^ a b c Pearce, Sheldon (May 22, 2019). "Injury Reserve: Injury Reserve". Pitchfork.
- ^ a b Vinti, Mike (31 May 2019). "The Quietus Reviews Injury Reserve". The Quietus. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Haworth 2019a, paragraph 16.
- ^ Green 2019, "Jailbreak the Tesla"; paragraph 1.
- ^ a b Haworth, Jamie (13 May 2019). "Injury Reserve - Injury Reserve - album review". Loud and Quiet. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ Green 2019, paragraph 2.
- ^ Ciulla, Gigi (15 January 2020). "The top 25 albums of 2019". ULOOP Inc. Retrieved 9 May 2022 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
- ^ Deville, Chris (22 September 2021). "Album Of The Week: Injury Reserve By The Time I Get To Phoenix". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- ^ Pearce, Sheldon (1 July 2020). "Remembering Injury Reserve's Stepa J. Groggs With Five Key Verses". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ Green 2019, Chapter III: The Cover Shoot; paragraph 2.
- ^ Simpson, Pierce (22 March 2019). "Injury Reserve Visit One Of America's Oldest Video Stores at SXSW". Complex News. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Pierre, Alphonse (24 January 2019). "New Rap Song of the Day: Injury Reserve's Jawbreaker [ft. Rico Nasty and Pro Teens]". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Hussein, Wandera (March 21, 2019). "Watch Injury Reserve's "Jailbreak the Tesla" video with Aminé". The Fader. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ Hussein, Wandera (19 April 2019). "Injury Reserve announce self-titled debut album, share new single "Koruna & Lime"". The Fader. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Injury Reserve Chart History (Billboard Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Injury Reserve by Injury Reserve". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Injury Reserve by Injury Reserve reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ a b Dart, Chris (May 23, 2019). "Injury Reserve Injury Reserve". Exclaim.ca.
- ^ a b Kohner, Kyle (May 20, 2019). "Album Review: Injury Reserve - Injury Reserve". The 405. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ Richardson, Kitty (May 13, 2019). "Injury Reserve's self-titled debut is a feat of thrilling diversity". The Line of Best Fit.
- ^ Hobbs, Thomas (17 May 2022). "Injury Reserve Prioritise Experimentation On Their Exiting Debut". Highsnobriety. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ Joyce, Colin (17 May 2019). "Tyler, the Creator's Fractured Gems and 11 More Albums for Heavy Rotation". Vice. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "The Loud and Quiet best 40 albums of 2019". Loud and Quiet. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ Ciulla, Gigi (15 January 2020). "The top 25 albums of 2019". The Michigan Daily. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ Rinder, Grant (5 June 2019). "Best Albums Of 2019: Top Albums Of The Year". Complex. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ Richardson, Kitty (20 December 2019). "The Best Albums Of 2019 Ranked". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ Indiana, Jake (13 June 2019). "The Best Albums Of 2019 (So Far)". Highnobriety. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ Dylan 2021, paragraph 3-4.
- ^ Martin, Josh (1 July 2020). "Injury Reserve rapper Jordan Groggs dies, aged 32". NME. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Injury Reserve Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
Sources[edit]
Interviews[edit]
- C.M, Emmanuel (27 October 2017). "The Break Presents: Injury Reserve". XXL. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- Commins, Leanna (19 June 2017). "New Face, Fresh Style: Indie Hip Hop Group Injury Reserve on Bringing 'Blue Collar' Sensibilities Back to Rap". Billboard. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- Deville, Chris (21 March 2019). "Band to Watch: Injury Reserve". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- Green, Dylan (11 July 2019). "Injury Reserve by Injury Reserve by Injury Reserve". Pigeons and Planes. Complex. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- Haworth, Jamie (3 July 2019). "Injury Reserve – The forward motion of an experimental rap group". Loud and Quiet. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
- Reeves, Mosi (13 June 2019). "Meet Injury Reserve: Code Orange-Endorsed Rap Group That Won't Be Pinned Down". Revolver. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
- Richardson, Kitty (23 June 2019). "Injury Reserve: critical darlings". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2022.