Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight [Parental Advisory]

Rating

Album: Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Ends	More Info...	0:03
2)	Way Back	More Info...	0:04
3)	Coordinate	More Info...	0:03
4)	Through the Late Night	More Info...	0:04
5)	Beibs in the Trap	More Info...	0:03
6)	SDP Interlude	More Info...	0:03
7)	Sweet Sweet	More Info...	0:03
8)	Outside	More Info...	0:03
9)	Goosebumps	More Info...	0:04
10)	First Take	More Info...	0:05
11)	Pick Up the Phone	More Info...	0:04
12)	Lose	More Info...	0:03
13)	Guidance	More Info...	0:03
14)	Wonderful	More Info...	0:03

Album: Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight
#	Song Title		Time
1)	The Ends	More Info...	0:03
2)	Way Back	More Info...	0:04
3)	Coordinate	More Info...	0:03
4)	Through the Late Night	More Info...	0:04
5)	Beibs in the Trap	More Info...	0:03
6)	SDP Interlude	More Info...	0:03
7)	Sweet Sweet	More Info...	0:03
8)	Outside	More Info...	0:03
9)	Goosebumps	More Info...	0:04
10)	First Take	More Info...	0:05
11)	Pick Up the Phone	More Info...	0:04
12)	Lose	More Info...	0:03
13)	Guidance	More Info...	0:03
14)	Wonderful	More Info...	0:03

Performer Notes

Photographer: Nick Knight.
Titled after one of Quavo's lines from the chirpy summertime 2016 hit co-billed to Travis Scott and Young Thug, this fitfully hypnotizing follow-up arrived after numerous delays, toward the end of the year's third quarter. "Pick Up the Phone" functioned as the lead single off Thug's JEFFERY, and it sensibly reappears here, buried in the latter half, de-emphasized yet not quite a tacked-on bonus. It's easily the track with the most pop appeal on Scott's second full-length. Released almost exactly a year after Rodeo, Birds in the Trap features little development, though the large company Scott keeps is quite different, and Metro Boomin is noticeably absent. Among the present is Andr? 3000, who drops by on "The Ends" to recollect the infamous rash of murders that struck his city during his early childhood. The album's deepest verse by a great measure, it has no discernible connection to Scott's surrounding rhymes of cocksure nonsense. That remains the M.O. of Scott, who remains deeply into heavy accessorization and proclamations of dominance, as well as punctuations with affirmative exclamations cast in dehumanizing pitch alteration. Swarming basslines and sluggish beats likewise form the rhythmic foundation, with gauzy and tickling keyboards adding sweetness to Scott's hedonistic hooks. Only on "Guidance," through scuttling drums granted by DF, is there a significant shake-up. This time, Scott co-produced only one track, another Weeknd collaboration, and it easily slips into the album's scheme with its serpentine menace and lightweight lyricism. Among the others on the guest carousel are Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, 21 Savage, and Cassie. They all pass in a slow-motion blur. ~ Andy Kellman

Professional Reviews

Pitchfork (Website) - "Scott remains committed to his signature sound on BIRDS but has finally made small tweaks to make it his own. Most Travis Scott songs sound very serious, and BIRDS finds him at his most melodramatic."

Clash (magazine) - "On BIRDS..., Scott is in command and control of how everything and everyone sounds. Mostly, the album is about drug abuse in the early hours and the chaos that can ensue in the window between sunset and sunrise."