{"id":8680,"date":"2026-04-08T19:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/?p=8680"},"modified":"2026-04-08T19:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T00:20:08","slug":"album-review-thundercat-distracted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/album-review-thundercat-distracted\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: THUNDERCAT &#8211; Distracted"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s been 6 years since Thundercat released an album with the Grammy-award winning\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It Is What It Is,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and we have been fiending for something new from him for a while. Aside from doing some guest appearances and production work in between albums, the first glimpse of a single was in 2023 with \u201cNo More Lies\u201d featuring Tame Impala and&#8230; wow this reminds me how that last Tame Impala album was such a letdown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, other singles soon followed with \u201cI Wish I Didn\u2019t Waste My Time\u201d along with \u201cI Did This to Myself\u201d, \u201cShe Knows Too Much\u201d and \u201cThunderWave.\u201d My opinion varied on each track with my least favorite being \u201cI Did This to Myself\u201d thanks to that Lil\u2019 Yachty verse, and my favorite was \u201cI Wish I Didn\u2019t Waste My Time\u201d (at the time). Now we finally have a new record out, and it does have some interesting features in here like the late Mac Miller, WILLOW, A$AP Rocky, Channel Tres, and rock band The Lemon Twigs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, is 6 years of waiting for some new Thundercat worth it? Has this album kept me distracted from other things?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, yeah. In fact, I\u2019m willing to say that this might be my favorite album of 2026 so far.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oisp3OUuJX4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you know your Thundercat albums, you know he often has some heavy subject matter like modern anxiety and being overwhelmed by the world, trying to balance it off with introspection, humor and heart with some virtuoso instrumentation. And man, this is some instrumentation and production that has that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">je ne sais quoi.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our intro track \u201cCandlelight\u201d is a fire way to start out the album with its outer-space vibe and galactic sound, especially knowing two of the contributors on this are Domi and JD Beck. Who are they, you may ask? They are <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">French keyboardist Domi Louna and American drummer JD Beck &#8212; child prodigy musicians that have worked with such artists as Anderson. Paak, Herbie Hancock, Ariana Grande and they had an album out in 2022, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not Tight<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (and yes, it\u2019s one of my favorites from that year).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next 4 tracks are feature-heavy, and some I have already talked about before, but I\u2019ll repeat myself: \u201cI Did This to Myself\u201d might be my least favorite on here because this reminds me of that classic 2016 track \u201cBroccoli.&#8221; You know, by DRAM? Also, the first thing I knew about Lil\u2019 Yachty is that verse of his, and while his feature on \u201cI Did This to Myself\u201d isn\u2019t as bad as his part on \u201cBroccoli,&#8221; I wouldn\u2019t play this very often. Yeah, this track is mostly about Thundercat in a relationship and how the woman is playing him but at least Thundercat didn\u2019t talk shit about OnlyFans not being a real job.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3APvI_L6yJI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cShe Knows Too Much\u201d is a funky good-time with him and Mac Miller, on top of being the better single with a feature considering their friendship and all. Yeah, it\u2019s about Mac talking to a woman out of his league but finding out the woman is a gold digger with not much going on. Oh, and you should watch the music video for this since it&#8217;s visually eye-pleasing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFunny Friends\u201d has him teaming up with A$AP Rocky on this, and funnily enough this was originally meant for <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t Be Dumb (<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and you can see the reason). We know Rocky does tend to go experimental in his work and thankfully, this is the experimental part of him that works. There\u2019s also another factor to this, and it\u2019s who produced the majority of the album. And that is\u2026 Greg Kurstin. Yeah, the music producer known for working with a lot of pop acts like Adele, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, and Sia. This may seem out of the ordinary, but he&#8217;s also produced for people like Kendrick Lamar and even Gorillaz, (doing most of the production on <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cracker Island)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but hey, he does some stellar work here. Almost every track&#8217;s got an amazing sound out of it, and I got no qualms here. I\u2019ll say that the presence of Flying Lotus isn\u2019t much &#8211; he\u2019s only produced two tracks here, one of them being the aforementioned \u201cI Did This to Myself.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, when it comes to my favorite tracks, this one immediately stuck out. \u201cWhat Is Left to Say?\u201d featuring The Lemon Twigs stuck with me through many, many listens from the instrumentation that has that \u201870s soul\/pop style reminiscent of The Bee Gees to the simple but poignant lyrics that hit in some areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KmL_rjsSyhI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don&#8217;t need much, maybe a simple touch<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s in the way that you reply to me like you can see<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Feelings are like children in the car<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can&#8217;t put them in the trunk, but let them drive, you won&#8217;t go far<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And if someone should ask me why<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I&#8217;ll turn around and say<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/39236999\/Thundercat-and-the-lemon-twigs-what-is-left-to-say\/These-are-the-drugs-youre-looking-for-go-on-your-way\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are the drugs you&#8217;re looking for, go on your way<\/span><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yeah, A Star Wars reference, and it\u2019s not the last of them. Also, the fact that I found out that KENNY BEATS of all people produced this had caught my attention after this wowed me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking of Star Wars, the track after <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI Wish I Didn\u2019t Waste My Time\u201d is literally titled \u201cAnakin Learns His Fate,\u201d and if you\u2019re a SW nerd (at least that isn\u2019t a dick), Thundercat sings about Anakin understanding why he turned to the dark side. The funny thing about this song is that there&#8217;s a co-writer credit to Haley Joel Osment. Yeah, Sora from Kingdom Hearts contributed to this as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ll speed-round through some tracks here &#8211; \u201cWalking on the Moon\u201d may not be a favorite of mine but I would still tune in and hear those sweet Thundercat vocals alongside some sweet sci-fi references!<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My Barbarella, you&#8217;re my Uhura<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I&#8217;m your starship trooper, event horizon<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where time is standing still<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Walking on the moon<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201dThis Thing We Call Love\u201d is a joint that makes you want to dance and strut, and man Channel Tres did his thing on here (he\u2019s very underrated as an artist). \u201cThunderWave\u201d was one of the aforementioned singles and the vocals from Thundercat and especially WILLOW both soar, like there\u2019s harmonizing and then there\u2019s singing like this. I was floored with this, and then the next track follows with \u201cPozole.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For those that don\u2019t know what that is, pozole is a traditional, hearty Mexican stew made with hominy (large corn kernels) and meat (typically pork or chicken), simmered in a flavorful broth that can be red (rojo), green (verde), or white (blanco). It is served with fresh garnishes like shredded lettuce or cabbage, onions, radishes, avocado, cilantro, and lime. This has nothing to do with the song, and yet this is also another one of my favorites, with The Lemon Twigs producing this one too. This one mostly involves mental health and trying to work through some stuff and while there&#8217;s not a lot of lyrics, this does hit and the vocalization is probably one of the best moments in the song.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"747\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iLXeIV3qhSs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cA.D.D. Through the Roof\u201d shown some excellent instrumentation throughout the end with \u201cGreat Americans\u201d having the power of cat ad-libs, and \u201cYou Left Without Saying Goodbye\u201d is a short closer that\u2019s more melancholic but a sweet finisher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On first listen, I really dug the hell out of this but the more I listened to it, the more I loved it: from the great production and instrumentation to the usual funkiness and groove I expect from the slowed-down and melancholic tracks that often hit in a special place. It is truly an amazing album from start to finish!<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p><em><strong>FINAL VERDICT:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><em>Buy It.\u00a0<\/em>You won&#8217;t be distracted by this work of art. It is a must-listen!<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>DISTRACTED\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is on Brainfeeder and is available on CD, vinyl, digital download and on streaming services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been 6 years since Thundercat released an album with the Grammy-award winning\u00a0It Is What It Is, and we have been fiending for \n<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/album-review-thundercat-distracted\/\"> [...]<\/a>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":8681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12],"tags":[1066,631,695,1809,294,1243,519],"class_list":["post-8680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-album","tag-album-review","tag-brainfeeder","tag-distracted","tag-rb","tag-soul","tag-thundercat"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.surrealresolution.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/https___images.genius.com_a3349a8ae73d6082e4697c8f6678a1e5.1000x1000x1.png?fit=788%2C788&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8GYHU-2g0","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8680"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8686,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8680\/revisions\/8686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.surrealresolution.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}