Review: GREEN EXITS by Troy Left

Troy Left is not just another SoundCloud rapper.  A quick witted intellectual destined for greatness, Left is trapped both seeking and avoiding permanence.  His debut album clamors with originality and an undeniably smooth flow .  Left effortlessly weaves in and out of the clean production, tip toeing between high hat hits with immaculate pace and suave tone. GREEN EXITS is a cohesive story that copes with mortality, the hollowed out time between moments, glimpses of self acceptance from jagged angles and ultimately the weight of life.

Press unlock, swing open the door and turn the key, "ETA" brings the steaming engine to life. With sparkling keys, flowing synths and layers of autotune, GREEN EXITS is on its way. With a spacious beat drop half way through the song, "ETA" is the perfect opening track to your next road trip playlist.

The album continues with its lead single "LOVE'S INFINITE GROOVE".  For every lyric drenched in love and compassion, they are accompanied by an ego destructing drug and alcohol reference. Though love radiates through human connection, Left reveals throughout the album that this feeling can be synthesized through different shades of substances. Clear, white, green… love. Though the references can be blurry L.I.G. is driven by "simple addition, that’s just one on one", a love so coveted that infinite is barely decent. 

The philosophical "PERMANENT IMPERMANENCE" juggles the fleeting mortality of all that is, under the universe's still expanding umbrella. Though impermanence is fate, the moment we live in is unshakeable.  Left opens VERIZON TRIPS admitting to Lucifer taking over his thoughts and in turn seeing through the illusion of free will God has given us, yet his peers continue to pray for a divine intervention. Sounding like a hidden track from Drake's album "Take Care" this piano confessionary grapples with the disillusion of ones self and self control "See a shrink 'til you feel big, medicated I don’t know the real thing, battles in my head, feel this shit until I'm dead."

Amongst the search for meaning and mastery, GREEN EXITS boasts extensive diversity.  "NEON BRIGHTS" sings "I don’t wanna fight no more", searching for peace internally and with others over a gleaming guitar solo, while "TSN" has the potential to be the catchiest and most contagious smoke jam of the year. The emerald crowned jewel of GREEN EXITS however is undoubtedly  "CHOPPER LYFT".  With rolling tides, stumbling beats and shimmering synths, this track breathes with the listener inside an immersive atmosphere of sound waves . Anchoring the song is Left's rapid fire verse that begs for recognition yet questioning if the effort exerted in this life is worthwhile.

Through the coping methods, muddled feelings, and hanging uncertainties, Left winds down the album with "SHADES OF GREEN" raping about overcoming fears and pushing through time a little further. The optimistic chorus sings of life's best intentions: reaching for actualization while pulling others up too. "I try my best to climb, I do my best to bring everybody else up with me". The somber yet uplifting chorus crescendos into a grimy guitar riff more punk rock than your favorite pubescent rock band.

GREEN EXITS embodies a beautiful struggle.  Every shred of clarity is nuanced with a sliver of doubt or even worse, nothing.  Though the soft and warm feeling production blends seamlessly with the cadence of Troy Left's rigid rhymes, his lyrics tell a different story, one of uncertainty, longing and most of all conflict. An unnoticed masterpiece, GREEN EXITS has something for the spirited optimist and the unwavering pessimist alike.

Listen to Troy Left's album GREEN EXITS at  https://soundcloud.com/troyleft/sets/green-exits-1