ImMature is the superb follow-up to Buffy Prescott’s 2015 LP PreMature.
It’s the second album in a trilogy that tells its stories from the perspective of a father, one trying to grow up for the sake of his children.
Like PreMature, ImMature’s sound is difficult to classify. It embraces the sounds of late ’80s rap, early ’90s hip-hop, and heavy metal guitars while blending in string instruments with scathing, insightful lyrics.
“The protagonist is a man-child who wants to evolve to be the best parent he can be, so he starts re-prioritising his life by analysing/critiquing his past and present,” says Sean.
The album starts with a father being woken up his kids, and then what follows is his re-evaluation of everything that was important to him before he became a father.
Know the Score opens with a ’90s-sounding beat and heavy guitar behind Seans’ cynical verses. He preaches that music is a product consumed by listeners and journalists alike, those who pretend to understand the personal hardships that went into its creation.
Fine (FWP) is more stripped back with thick, sludgy-sounding synths behind scathing lyrics about manhood and how people in authority should stay within their roles.
In Heathen Mulch, Sean explores what becomes of us after we die, and the uncertainties it may present to those who are still living.
Gutcheck is a harrowed exploration into love, while Never Said (I Was a Man) opens with something that could come from a heavy metal album, before leading into a stripped back verse with the vocal line traced by an electric guitar.
In/bound examines music as a storytelling medium, while The Hawkeye Initiative explores consent through the guise of fandoms.
Yella is about domestic violence while Better explores what its like to be deep in depression. Persistence is Futile was written for Sean’s children, to show them that the music business is still worth pursuing:
“I’m referring to the emotional investment and return in music: the real reason we (still) do it.”
The Reason (ponder) opens with a very sweet declaration of love from a child to their parent, which sounds like it was recorded straight onto a phone. Ultimately, Sean questions his role as creator and the role music plays in our lives.
“If rap is something you do, and hip-hop is something you live, I think I might just be rapping these days.”
ImMature is available now on all platforms.
