“Gains” – Rich Gains LP Review

April saw Rich Gains of the Blended Babies production duo put out a debut solo album. “Gains,” which dropped Friday, April 28, is a 30-minute funhouse of psyched-out yet soulful beats. With all its technical brilliance and free-flowing style mixture, “Gains” also manages to stay gratifying, upbeat, and relaxing.

A producer like Rich Gains, after working with such notable acts as Chance the Rapper, Anderson .Paak, and Kid Cudi, can be expected to know what he’s doing on some level.

Nico Segal, the artist formerly known as Donnie Trumpet, appears alongside Freddie Gibbs and ZZ Ward on leading single “7 Digits.” Approaching 25,000 plays on SoundCloud, the track has had ten times as much SoundCloud reception as any other song off the new record.

But don’t let these numbers fool you. “Gains” has a consistently inventive approach to neo-soul, with a surprise guitar solo, beat switch, or vocal riff every 45–90 seconds. The album is a strong competitor in this wave of “vintage, 70s” semblance hip hop that has engulfed Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Kaytranada, and so many other recent successes.

The record opens with alternating episodes of hazy chillwave and jumpy breakbeat. Distinct, repeat-ad-nauseum hook is abandoned for a collection of joyful, cool patterns that shift in all sorts of directions. “7 Digits” brings extra intensity (as Freddie Gibbs is known to), extra weight to the bright atmosphere Rich Gains has set up.

Following is a dip into the reggae side of instrumental hip hop, with a 4-minute dosage (that turns into a dub) called “Sauce.” The next minute goes into deep house, soca-fueled dream pop. A good trumpet solo can perfectly set the mood for this warm weather and these late sunsets, at least that’s what Asher Roth, Jonathan Chapman, and Leon Q. Allen have me thinking after “Freedom2.”

“Gains” is exploring the wide spectrum of colors that digital music has to offer. For anybody’s first solo album, it is notably brave and well-read on a variety of influences. “Grass Morning” is pure trip hop. One of the album’s four instrumentals, it captures much of that sizzle and pop of fuzzy electric bass and synths to make the hippies fall in love with this album. It’s the prettiest music I would imagine ever hearing at the world’s most expensive mall.

Succinctly-titled closer “She Gone Give up on You so Take a Walk and Come Back Tomorrow” shimmers with its smoothie of 90s watery “chorus-effect” guitars and Shakespeare quotes. Rich Gains is joined once again by JP, co-member of Blended Babies, for one final bluesy, Romantic slow jam before the lights go out on an instant classic debut.