Thundercat's 2017 album Drunk was met with well-deserved acclaim and praise, landing on a multitude of year-end lists, including Exclaim!'s Top Ten Soul and R&B Albums. The Grammy winner, who for some time has been a highly sought-after session bass player, has had a hand in more than a few groundbreaking works in recent years, including Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, a half-dozen Flying Lotus albums and Kamasi Washington's The Epic. Along the way, he's worked with others like Childish Gambino, Ty Dolla Sign and N.E.R.D.
It's certainly no surprise, then, that a remixed edition of Drunk appeared online last year, an unofficial homage by DJ Candlestick and OG Ron C of Houston DJ collective the Chopstars, which has since been picked up for official release. It's an ambitious undertaking to remix an album that's already riding pretty close to perfection, but the fittingly titled Drank is not without its faults; in fact, they outweigh its benefits pretty significantly.
The "chopped not slopped" mix significantly slows down the original album's BPM, letting us hear the workings of Thundercat's incredible finger-picking, but doesn't offer much more than that. There's some light scratching and a reworking of the original track listing for a better flow (the end of "Inferno," for example, works in the opening chords and bass work of "Them Changes," making for a great transition), but that's where the changes stop.
Drank is an interesting take for fans to indulge in, but not an album you're likely to take any inspiration from, given its lack of real exploration.
