In Cuco’s latest album, Fantasy Gateway, the California native released a 12-track album concerning substance abuse, mental health, and love. Through the use of the synth, electric guitar, bass, claps, drums, saxophone, and piano, Cuco creates some psychedelic, wonky, and ethereally dynamic instrumentals throughout the project.
With a plethora of guitar solos and instrumental breaks, Cuco leans into the psychedelic nature of the instrumentation which greatly benefits the overall aesthetic and tone of the album. To further accentuate this vibe, Cuco sings and singsongs his way throughout in a slow, passionate, and dreamy cadence which plays favorably to his vocal strengths.
Occasionally accompanied by features that mostly provide effective performance, Cuco switches between Spanish and English lyrics throughout the project, offering poetic insight in both languages.
Thematically, Cuco plays with some abstract topics that delve into substance abuse, mental health, and love that are written metaphorically and literally. While the themes are mostly poignant, important, and written poetically, sometimes the lyrics aren’t as impactful as they are at other times. With an album with songs that vary from good to excellent, there are hardly, if any, gaps in the creative excellence of Cuco’s project.
While tracks like Aura and Foolish are funky, psychedelic, and whimsical in nature with undertones of dance, tracks such as When The Day Comes To an End and Decor Adios focus on a more nuanced, focused, and deliberately paced indie rooted style. While the best songs are Aura, Paraphonic, and Foolish, there are no weak tracks or misses in this cohesive project.
Score/Excellent: Cuco offers a fusion of hypnagogic pop/neo-psychedelia that’s lyricism, instrumentation, and vocal performance all blend for an album that highlights his ability to sing, perform, and write.
[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]
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