OUTSIDENESS GET WEIRD, VULNERABLE AND WONDERFULLY UNPREDICTABLE ON ‘…THEN AFTER?’

Trying to figure out exactly what genre Outsideness belongs to is kind of a waste of time. Freidrich$ and Azalias bounce around between acoustic music, electronica, R&B, hip-hop, and whatever else they feel like throwing into the pot. Sometimes they even manage to hit a few of those in the same song.

Their new album, …Then After?, takes that idea and runs with it. There are songs about love, relationships, faith, and trying to figure your shit out, but musically, almost nothing stays in one place for very long. Some tracks are quiet and beautiful. Others suddenly turn into something completely different halfway through. And there were definitely a few moments where we wondered what the fuck was happening.

That’s also why we kept listening.

Outsideness made a record that sounds pretty damn appropriate for a project by the same name. Let’s dig in.

…Then After? kicks off with “Alright,” pairing soothing keys with deep, powerful drums for a stripped-down track that immediately pulls you in. Freidrich$ handles the first half before Azalias finally enters in the second, and she’s fucking great. Her voice immediately changes the track, adding warmth and emotion to everything Freidrich$ spent the first half setting up. Nothing is overdone; the mix sounds great, and “Alright” is a damn good way to start an album.

“Freedom” brings in a warm acoustic guitar before Freidrich$ and Azalias meet for some seriously beautiful harmonies. This song immediately puts us somewhere deep in a Pacific Northwest forest with someone we love and absolutely no cell service.

The two trade the spotlight before continuously finding their way back to each other, and those harmonies are really what make the track. Drums and some subtle instrumentation eventually creep in, but nothing gets in the way of what made the opening work. Put this on while lying in bed, staring out at some ridiculous landscape or contemplating your existence in the desert. Honestly, the Burning Man crowd would probably eat this shit up.

The third track, “Even to Me,” is another downtempo love song with all the feels baked into it. Like “Alright,” Freidrich$ gets things started before Azalias comes in later and helps take it home.

And holy shit, the ending.

The final stretch just keeps building, getting bigger and more passionate until everything finally comes together. It’s easily one of our favorite moments on the record, and yeah, we’ve already played this one more than a few times.

Then there’s “Container.” This one starts with a genuine “what the fuck is this?” moment because we had absolutely no clue where it was going. The vocals sound distant and raw, almost like someone recorded them straight into a phone. Weird? Yes. Does it work? Somehow, also yes. Then the entire song changes.

“Container” suddenly turns into this dance-heavy electronic track with R&B and hip-hop sprinkled throughout, and it rules. The jump shouldn’t work nearly as well as it does, but that’s kind of becoming the theme with Outsideness. Every time you think you’ve figured them out, they go somewhere else. At this point in the album, “Container” might be our favorite track.

“Haunt” carries some of that same raw weirdness into the next track. Also, what the hell is up with this “free drink” thing that keeps showing up on the album? At this point, we’re getting thirsty.

Anyway, Freidrich$ and Azalias spend “Haunt” going back and forth, and this one gets considerably more emotional. It sounds intentionally rough around the edges, but that actually helps. After the explosion of “Container,” “Haunt” is quieter, stranger, and much more vulnerable. Totally different vibe, but we’re into it.

“Got Me” brings the acoustic side of the album back, starting soft before picking things up again toward the back end. Freidrich$ really lays it all out there on this one and delivers some of his most vulnerable moments on the record. Azalias deserves plenty of credit, too. When her voice comes into the picture, the song gets another emotional boost, and once the two meet in the middle, “Got Me” really starts to hit.

“La Jetee” and “Dance” sound completely different from one another, but for some reason, they make perfect sense back-to-back. They almost feel like two halves of one larger idea. It’s another example of just how much ground Outsideness covers on this thing without making it feel like somebody accidentally hit shuffle on three different albums.

The longest track on the album, “Water,” starts with Azalias and Freidrich$ effortlessly moving back and forth. It’s calm, relaxing, and very much in line with the softer side of the record before gradually growing into something bigger.

We will say the ending hangs around a little longer than it needs to. Shave a little off the back, and we probably like it even more. Still, it’s a beautiful song and another example of how well these two work together.

…Then After? wraps up with “Hold,” and it feels like the right place to leave things. Love, relationships, passion, and faith have been running through this album from the beginning, and “Hold” brings those ideas together without trying to end the record with some gigantic unnecessary statement. After all the weird turns and experimentation that came before it, the simplicity works.

And maybe that’s the best way to look at …Then After? as a whole.

The title follows naturally from …From What?. The first record asked where this strange collaboration came from. The second asks what happens now that it exists. Apparently, whatever the F Freidrich$ and Azalias want.

There are moments that are polished, moments that are raw, and plenty where you have no clue where they’re going next. But the thing holding Outsideness together is these two. They know when to take over, when to get out of each other’s way and, most importantly, when to come back together.

…Then After? is weird, romantic, vulnerable, and unpredictable.

Which, when you think about it, is pretty much exactly what Outsideness should sound like.