Touchdown’s turbulent debut album has proven to be somewhat of a rough landing.
By all accounts, Teezo Touchdown is the future of alternative music.
In the past year alone, the Texas native has earned a co-sign from Drake and begun a tour with Travis Scott. Before that, he was working with Tyler, the Creator, making a splash in fashion by wearing nails in his hair, and posting short films on Instagram that were as charismatic as they were grainy. His discography, which until this month consisted of only features and singles, already explores a wider range of sounds and genres than some artists with ten studio albums under their belt. In a word, Teezo Touchdown is dynamic. He is full of creative energy and ever-changing.
Thus, many were excited when on August 10, two weeks after the release of his standout verse on Travis Scott’s UTOPIA, Teezo took to Instagram to announce the name and release date of his upcoming album. Four days later, he posted a snippet of the album’s first track, “OK,” and continued posting snippets of new songs every day or two until September 8, when he instead posted a yellow sticky note that seemed to finally give a definitive answer to a question he likely hears often: what genre of music does Teezo Touchdown make? “Rock & Boom!,” Teezo’s answer read, “R&B with the intensity of Rock, the penmanship of Hip-Hop & a Boom that will shake the world!” With this single sonic clue, Teezo finally delivered his debut album, How Do You Sleep At Night?, to streaming services on September 16.
“OK,” the record’s aforementioned intro, is a downtempo, metal-infused track that outlines Teezo’s determination to embrace his individuality, despite the feelings of isolation it can lead to. This track establishes two of the album’s biggest themes: Teezo’s dedication to his unique style and his affinity for lyrics that sound like they were written by an eight-year-old. The album’s opening lyrics take the shape of clunky dialogue between Teezo and a fan, referencing the newest Spider-Man film and using that as a jumping off point for a series of movie metaphors that fall flat. But a decent chorus and a much-improved second verse help the track recover from there, giving way to “You Thought,” the album’s second track.
“You Thought” begins as a sparse, uptempo rap-rock banger littered with distorted guitars and quick flows before transitioning into a smooth R&B record featuring vocals from Janelle Monáe. It’s a standout song early on in the tracklist, and while it certainly contains elements of both rock and R&B, it keeps them separate from one another. The album’s third track, simply titled “UUHH,” delivers on Teezo’s promise of combining these elements to create “Rock and Boom.” Teezo spends the track’s runtime crooning about some sort of sexual encounter, but avoids touching on any details before moving on to a much more romantic tune in “Sweet.” A duet between Touchdown and singer-songwriter Fousheé, “Sweet” comes in at just over 2 minutes long and is one of several tracks on the record that ultimately feels a little half-baked. An extra verse or even just repeating the chorus would have helped cement this tune as one of the catchiest on the record.
After this, though, Teezo’s writing takes a massive step back on “Impossible,” a track which squanders some of the album’s catchiest production with a juvenile exploration of its themes. The lyrics, which clumsily ponder the “what-ifs” of lost potential and unfulfilled dreams, aren’t helped by Teezo’s delivery, which is at best monotonous and at worst downright annoying. As the album progresses, every track is plagued by either juvenile, rambling lyricism or underdeveloped ideas (or, in some cases, both). “Neighborhood” and “Mood Swings” explore dance and disco sounds, which is fun, but lyrically they barely expand upon their titles. The chorus of “Daddy Mama Drama” is built upon a horrible mix of metaphors that leaves the listener cringing, confused, and ultimately disinterested when Teezo begins wailing about issues with his parents. “I Don’t Think U C Me” feels more like an interlude than a fleshed-out song, and “Nu Nay” genuinely sounds like a 6th grader freestyling for his friends on the school bus.
But in every desert, there is an oasis. In the midst of these terribly mediocre tracks lies “Familiarity,” a snappy, midtempo alt-pop tune that explores the deep and perpetual angst that comes with being a young adult with unrecognized talent stuck in a dead-end job. The track exudes authenticity. Teezo has clearly been in this position himself and his performance reflects that. There’s a little bit of a immaturity in his lyrics but now it’s charming rather than juvenile. There’s a little bit of whine in his voice but now it’s like a friend getting everything off their chest rather than an obnoxious younger sibling. Teezo strikes a perfect balance on this song and makes what are otherwise his weaknesses work for him, all the while speaking to every struggling young creative, single parent, and minimum-wage employee to provide far and away the highlight of the record.
How Do You Sleep At Night? concludes with “Stranger” and “The Original Was Better,” the only two tracks from the album not to be teased on Teezo’s Instagram before the album’s release. “Stranger” begins with some soft rock guitar arpeggios and some refrains about similarities between strangers and how small the world can seem. Again, though, Teezo goes nowhere with this idea. Just like on “Neighborhood” and “Mood Swings,” he ends up crooning the same handful of boring lines for three and a half minutes. “The Original Was Better” seems to be following a similar formula before building to an EDM drop for the song’s bridge. With this, Teezo seems satisfied in his exploration of every genre of popular music, and ends the album with one final repetitive, whiny refrain.
How Do You Sleep At Night? is crushingly disappointing. Teezo Touchdown was poised to take the world by storm with this record and it’s seemingly only set him back. That said, it’s clear that Teezo has the talent to improve. There are certainly some diamonds in the rough of this album and all of the work he put into his singles and online presence prior to this year prove that he is serious about his art. He’s already cultivated a dedicated following, and not everyone had such a strong negative reaction to his debut. Perhaps, with time, we will come to understand this record in a way we didn’t before…or at least be able to look back and laugh on this very rough start for Teezo Touchdown.
Photo Credits from: Not Fit From Society/RCA
