Final verdict: 8/10 ★★★★☆
A wild thing about the music industry is that any one guy could be producing top-shelf tunes for years, and you will in all likelihood have never even heard of him. In this day and age, much great music goes undiscovered in the vast seas of the Internet, and over the course of my years as a music fan and writer, I have come across many such cases. I suppose it should then come as no surprise that I had never before heard of CashLyke, a rapper and songwriter who is currently about to release his 4th LP “Don’t Look Back” on July 24th, until I got to hear his 4th LP “Don’t Look Back” before its release. Yes, people – at siliamusic.com, we do journalism, and we finally, finally have a hot story in our hands. A review of a yet-unreleased album is about as hot as a story can get, so let us not look back and instead move onto the review. Man, I hate writing introductory paragraphs.
But what I do not hate is good music – and thankfully, CashLyke’s upcoming record “Don’t Look Back” has plenty of that on show. A quick glance over the tracklist reveals that we are dealing with a rather depressed, perhaps even angry album here; “Too Late To Save Me”? Boy, I knew I was in for a ride before I even hit play – and when I did hit play, it was immediately clear what I had signed up for. Opener “I’ve Completely Lost My Mind” is a hyperpop-styled track that totally lives up to its title, and it really primed me for an album of, well, hyperpoppy insanity. The harsh, aggressive soundscape fulfilled my expectation of an expression of anger, and yet, that was only a humble beginning.
Personally, I like my aggression with a healthy siding of synths. A great example of such a style is my friend orokamono’s music; if you’re curious, I have previously covered her LP “Don’t Forget What You Came Here For” here, and she helped produce my own latest album, the coveted “Strawberry Skies,” which you should totally listen to by the way, because I need to make rent somehow. orokamono’s great, but you see, bonds of friendship are tough luck in the face of unbiased commentary, for what made me instantly fond of “Don’t Look Back” was the fact it reminded me of orokamono – and there is no room for negotiation in the name of orokamono. Though CashLyke opts for more of an experimental hip-hop approach, his album primarily falls under the synthpop umbrella, giving me lots of space to project my 1990s synthpop fantasies onto his work.
One thing I find interesting is how this album kicks off with a song titled “The End of a Chapter” – an instance of “in media res” in the musical format. From there on, CashLyke goes on to explore various themes in song, mostly ones of mental health and intrapersonal issues – his narrator is troubled yet resilient, and as the album progresses, it is clear he is going somewhere with it. “Don’t Look Back,” the majestic closer and title track, is a symbolic look back on the psychological turmoil of the main meat of this album – a well-cooked steak dinner including tracks such as “Jealousy/Videotape” and the pre-released single “Selfish” (featuring vno).
I will leave the rest up to you, my dear reader, to interpret – I am not the music police, unfortunately so. But before I sign off, let me bring up the retro-styled “One More Dance/No More Chances” as my favorite track off “Don’t Look Back” – the synthwave backing feels like a sunny August afternoon, and CashLyke’s rapping skills are on full boast in this one. If anything, “One More Dance/No More Chances” is this album’s essential cut.
As for the album itself? Pretty good stuff, I would wager. I implore you to mark July 24th on your calendar and remember to check your favorite streaming service on that day – words can only do so much to describe music, and “Don’t Look Back” is an album well worth your time. Proceed as you must.
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