Houston’s own, Travis Scott dropped his highly-anticipated album Astroworld the first weekend of August, and the 17-track offering has proven to showcase his ability to take so many different paths while always providing more of his signature sound.
After fans waited nearly two years for Astroworld, Travis decided to drop his third solo effort the night of his remarkable Lollapalooza performance. Multiple POD members were lucky enough to witness the energy and talent that Scott showcases in his live performances along with seeing a sneak peak of the new album through the release of “Stargazing” and “5% Tint.”
Astroworld is Scott’s first step into the spotlight within the mainstream, and he delivered. After listening through many times ove, we came up with our Top 5 songs off of Astroworld. Check out our picks below.
“Stargazing”
Choosing “Stargazing” to open up the album was a great decision by Travis. The high tempo vibe of the track drops us right into the actual Astroworld and encourages everyone to dance and sing along with its highly addictive chorus. A sudden beat switch leads listeners into a dark trap ride with a hard hitting verse from Scott. This technique sets the tone for the rest of the album; like with any good rollercoaster, the journey is filled with ebbs and flows that will leave a lasting impression on you.
“Sicko Mode”
Astroworld’s most popular track is a three-course meal, with features from the likes of Drake and Swae Lee complementing Scott’s catchy flow throughout the track. The song starts out with video-game sounding synths & Drake kicking off with a short intro. A couple times here, listeners are built up and made ready to rage, but Travis switches it back up quickly as if this was a whole different song. After paying homage to the late Notorious B.I.G., Swae Lee and Big Hawk come in with a really interesting bridge that connects the song together well. Then comes another Tay Keith hit with a high powered trap beat. Drake spits, I’d argue, his most catchy hook ever and Travis continues to brag about Kylie Jenner. Sicko Mode is simply a hit any way you look at it.
“Stop Trying to be God”
If Travis Scott + Kid Cudi + Stevie Wonder isn’t a recipe for success, I don’t know what is. Travis Scott’s brilliant use of autotune goes along with Cudi’s humming and Stevie Wonder’s gorgeous harmonica blips so well. Travis lays out his verses with some really sentimental lyrics that wrap right back into a beautiful outro from James Blake. Hats off to both Travis and Mike Dean for layering this song so beautifully.
“Astrothunder”
As soon as I saw the track list, I knew this one would be good. With an impressive group of Thundercat, John Mayer and River Tiber all having a hand in the production, Travis only needed to lay down a single verse and an unbelievably catchy chorus over the track to complete a really beautiful song. Mystical synths shoot across the track while a pretty subtle beat that keeps the songs tempo pushing into space. Thundercat’s bass line is also very prevalent in this track, adding even more sonic pleasure.
“Coffee Bean”
Travis nailed the intro with “Stargazing,” and he most definitely nailed the book-end of the album with “Coffee Bean.” Capping things off with such a relaxed song was a fantastic way to close out such an energetic project. Scott gets very personal in this song, rapping about some of his more substantial trials and tribulations. A good portion of the song has to do with his girlfriend and mother of his daughter, Kylie Jenner. While Travis has a very strong and braggadocios persona, he revealed a lot in this track, showing his fans that he is human as well.
