On the sequel to his official LP debut
SYRE, the now-one-named
Jaden takes a similar approach to his genre-blurring style, whirling a creative blend of styles around a hip-hop nucleus on the hardened
ERYS. On this album's extended journey, the young rapper dabbles with cloud rap haziness, dark trap, atmospheric electronic production, and even some raw punk rock, placing himself in a similar universe with
Tyler, The Creator,
Brockhampton, and
Kid Cudi. As songs weave in and out of focus, track boundaries are erased as
Jaden abruptly switches styles and tempos, keeping listeners on their feet as
ERYS swirls and churns for over an hour of runtime. No matter the method of delivery, the spirit of
ERYS sticks with two primary modes: tortured and emotive or defiant and confrontational. Mirroring
SYRE's four-part "BLUE" opener,
ERYS kicks off with the "PINK" suite. Joined by sister Willow (who returns for the gorgeous "Summertime in Paris") and producer
Lido, this prologue alone is worthy of its own EP, a mind-churning abstract that distills
SYRE's overall ethos in under 14 minutes. From there,
Jaden is joined by
Tyler, The Creator on the menacing highlight "NOIZE";
Trinidad James on the
Travis Scott-esque "Mission"; and
A$AP Rocky on the serviceable "Chateau."
Jaden even managed to recruit his idol,
Kid Cudi, for the pulsing standout "On My Own." While
ERYS occasionally drags over its seventeen17 tracks, it's an immersive experience that finds
Jaden at his most vulnerable, processing his messy young adult feelings into a relatable and sonically exciting way. ~ Neil Z. Yeung