46 seconds may not be ample space to frame up a lifetime, a year or even a day. Arlo Maverick's opening track from his debut solo album, Maybe Tomorrow is Subconscious. In its 46 seconds, its phonic haiku collage drew me in more than the last few autobiographies I've read. Who is this guy?
Maverick's crew will lead listeners down many familiar paths on Maybe Tomorrow's 14 tracks. DJ Nato's slick beats helped along by Motorbike James' driving guitar and the neural tomfoolery of Cameron Brown's soundscapes supply a landscape of music that is all at once universal to the discipline of hip-hop and yet utterly inventive. Transitions throughout the album deftly turn corners leading us down different avenues. There's a little bit of magic on every track.
Meet, 'Soup', Maverick's main character, sadly driven to drink. He's "holding onto nothing." Maybe you're already starting to relate? Soup is struggling. He's "saving decisions for later" by choosing crown and coke instead. Soup's nights spent sitting on bar stools metamorphosizes into spirituality. A bold chorus is heard, as a collage of sound moves us from the bombastic to the intimacy of Soup's therapy session.
Maverick and company tackle first real love with a maturity not found on many hip-hop albums. In, "Holding Me Down", Soup's story conveyed is authentic enough to suggest Maverick shares some experiences with his main character. These aren't your every day top 40 musings of what love is. Soup's in love, he's growing and learning but its not simple. Nothing about Maybe Tomorrow is simple.
Nothing is simple for a boy raised by a single mother. "Will you send me the money?" Soup's being bullied at school. He doesn't have the right clothes. He asks his dad for help. Soup wants his dad's love and for a young boy, love comes in the form of new jeans. Maverick handles the relationship between absent father & young son with a mixture of humour, hope and cringe worthy parenting. The performances given by various voice actors throughout the album are solid, though the scene between Soup and his dad is by far the best. I'm pretty sure I had the exact same conversation with my dad over the phone.
Soup wants what all kids want- to be accepted. He wants more of what the rest have. Maverick reminds us how peer pressure can take precedent over all else at a young age. The reality of Soup's home life and what Soup wants begins to coalesce. Soup will have to find another route to his goals, to his acceptance because he can't have those material things. Soup is still becoming a man.
Lyrically, the concept of Soup's journey documented via hip hop works well. But where the music accompaniment fails to follow the arcing story on other concept albums, Maverick's crew take it to the next level. The music learns, grows, adapts right alongside Soup. "Too many Toos" is as reflective musically as it is lyrically.
By the time we arrive at "Hurting Inside", Soup's journey to adulthood is complete. He's looking back on his life's adventure so far. He's different. Soup's reflection and change gives him another dimension. Soup's hurting inside and he's angry but he still misses his dad. There's a huge amount of sophistication in Maverick's lyrics as heard through Soup.
Some may argue that Soup's story is almost trivial in that it depicts the human struggle in a way far more relatable to most of our everyday lives than what's being fantasized about on top 40 radio. Maybe Tomorrow could have rested on its seductive and powerful production added onto Mavericks compelling cadences but it doesn't. Maverick has crafted an album that accepts the world for what it truly is – strange & terrifying and entirely rapturous & limitless. What could have been just a pop record is something far more palatable to the listener who wants to put in some work. For those who do, something special will happen. Kind of like life. Keep moving forward, Soup.
-- Val Christopher
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