Them Changes by Thundercat
Channel: Charlie Christenson
Date: 19/08/2015

This has been THE song of Summer 2015 for me.

Before there was space funk, there was heartbreak. On some cosmic level, Thundercat knows this. Strip away the technique, the phasers, and the astral glitter of Stephen Bruner's recent EP and what's left are the raw materials of loss and pain. He stares bald-faced into deep melancholy and then drops globs of dope bass shit on top. This has made Thundercat more than just a child of P-Funk, but a futurist songwriter who's in tune with the outer sounds of Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, and the rest of L.A.'s Brainfeeder label.

On "Them Changes", a sampled beat from the Isley Brother’s "Footsteps in the Dark" introduces a shaggy '70s R&B groove before Thundercat's six-string bass sets the swirling mood. "Nobody move there's blood on the floor/ And I can't find my heart," he sings, the melodrama of his words coupled with a wide-eyed bass line that adds a subtle shade of humor. But to Thundercat, the stakes really are that high; believe him when he concludes he's a "heartless, broken mess." At the very end of the track, the spotlight turns briefly to Washington's sax, as he plays Thundercat out of the club and into night, while behind them the party just keeps on bouncing (via Pitchfork.com).

More Thundercat: http://www.brainfeedersite.com

More Charlie: http://www.charliechristenson.com