Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak is one of the most intriguing albums of the year. Its sound is reminiscent of the early 80s rap tracks that I loved growing up. That doesn't make it some sort of retro album. (The autotune all over West's "sung" vocals places it squarely in the early 21st century.) Its just that most of the backing tracks come off like cold and clinical electro music, as if Newcleus ("Jam On It") had returned as West's producer.
My favorite song so far is "Paranoid." I had planned on writing much more about this track, then I read the always interesting blogger Matthew Perpetua's piece on Fluxblog about the same song. And he summed it up much better than I ever could. So I'd suggesting checking out his entry.
One last thing: 808s & Heartbreak is not for everyone. I can't imagine to many folks wanting to hear a poorly sung rap equivalent of Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. However, I encourage you to give it a chance. If you "get" this album, it will likely blow your mind and become one of your favorite discs of the year. I know that's the case with yours truly.
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