While Tyler, the Creator is the obvious nucleus of Odd Future, Earl Sweatshirt has always been its most compelling member due to his mysterious disappearance at the beginning of the group’s rise and his embodiment of what’s become a common rap conceit of late: young musician whose rabid fan base has left him appreciative of what’s he’s been given but also weary of the adulation.
On his uneven first album, Doris, Earl Sweatshirt took his preternaturally gifted lyricism to a deep emotional level. Here, he ratchets that up another notch, attacking familiar concepts (wantonly commercial rappers, his complicated relationship with his mother, the push and pull of celebrity) with seasoned vigour. He’s at his best on final song Wool, eschewing his inner turmoil for a raw verse that shows him at his most confident: wisecracking, carefree and defiantly proud of what he and a group of outré misfits have accomplished.
Top track: Wool
Earl Sweatshirt plays the Opera House on Tuesday (April 14).
