Open Mike Eagle wrote the songs on Anime, Trauma and Divorce in order to help process his feelings during a particularly turbulent time in his personal life, which was made even more complicated when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He alludes to a broken marriage and music business troubles, but doesn't go too deep into specifics -- instead, the album is primarily focused on his reactions to everything that's going on, as well as how he considers coping with it all and making efforts to improve his life. As ever, he uses self ...
Read More
Open Mike Eagle wrote the songs on Anime, Trauma and Divorce in order to help process his feelings during a particularly turbulent time in his personal life, which was made even more complicated when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He alludes to a broken marriage and music business troubles, but doesn't go too deep into specifics -- instead, the album is primarily focused on his reactions to everything that's going on, as well as how he considers coping with it all and making efforts to improve his life. As ever, he uses self-deprecating humor to work through it all, elaborately expressing his feelings of making a fool out of himself on songs like "Headass (Idiot Shinji)." The album's numerous anime references will be lost on listeners who don't follow the art form, but nearly anyone can relate to his confusion, weariness, and desire to set things back on the right path. The trippy, nightmarish "The Black Mirror Episode" pinpoints a viewing of the sci-fi series as the moment when his relationship fell apart ("The shit should've came with a content warning!"), and the dusky house thump of "Bucciarati" (featuring Kari Faux) smoothes over the song's sentiments of trying to emerge from feeling broken. Eagle contemplates where to go next and how to comfortably settle into middle age on "Sweatpants Spiderman," while the crackling, Gold Panda-produced "Wtf Is Self Care" is a hilarious pondering of all the somewhat depressing steps towards adulting. The album's mood is considerably lightened thanks to appearances by Eagle's son Asa, who assumes the rap name Lil A$e. Concluding track "Fifteen Twenty Feet Ocean Nah," recorded live during a performance on a cruise ship, is a partly freestyled tale of the mishaps of a family snorkeling trip, spinning it into a cartoonish catastrophe. Even with all of its exaggerated drama, the song provides a welcome shot of spontaneous fun into an album that has its share of emotionally heavy moments. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi
Read Less
