SAINT PEPSI - Hit Vibes ALBUM REVIEW

 

10/10

SAINT PEPSI's landmark release "Hit Vibes" still holds up as one of the greatest and most influential future funk albums ever released.

Hey everyone, welcome back to a brand new classic review! Today we're taking a look at SAINT PEPSI's unforgettable 2013 album "Hit Vibes".

SAINT PEPSI is an old alias of electronic musician Skylar Spence (real name Ryan DeRobertis). SAINT PEPSI began releasing music on the vaporwave scene in late 2012 - before releasing "Hit Vibes" he was mainly known for a laid-back and luxurious style of vaporwave with classic albums such as "LATE NIGHT DELIGHT" (with luxury elite) and "EMPIRE BUILDING". 

Towards his later releases under the SAINT PEPSI name, he began approaching a more danceable, feel-good style on releases such as "STUDIO 54" and "Winner's Circle" - tracks from these releases such as "NEWTON", "CHALLENGER", or even songs from his older releases such as "ビッグバンの祭壇BANGALTER" or "Pineapple Juniors" would go on to be some of the earliest future funk songs ever made.

This all came together with "Hit Vibes" which was released on May 31st, 2013 and was a massive influence on the future funk genre, along with other albums such as "SAILORWAVE" by マクロスMACROSS 82-99. It may be hard to figure out if SAINT PEPSI was the first to create future funk, after all what defines the genre is very subjective, but he certainly introduced the style to a massive audience.

Despite how old this album is in the scene, it's still, in my opinion, the greatest vaporwave album of all time - the production is amazing and full of life, the attention to detail is phenomenal, and most, if not ALL the songs here still hold up as unforgettable classics.

The album starts off with "Hit Vibes", which is a very short but sweet track - it also samples the 1996 film "Everyone Says I Love You", which becomes a recurring theme in the album. It's an amazing way to kick off the record.

Next up we have "Have Faith" - the drums on this song are great and they fit very well with the sample. This song is one of the most feel-good stand-outs from the album, and its fantastically enjoyable.

"Better" is the third track from the album and this is by far my favourite song here. It's an incredibly catchy, joyful, and well-made rework of "I Can Make It Better" by The Whispers, mixed with Mario 64 sound effects of course... and of all the songs here this one has probably stuck with me the longest. Absolutely love this thing, not much else to say about it.

"Cherry Pepsi" is the most popular song from the album, with over 5 million views on YouTube, and it's easy to see why. The bass groove here is unforgettable and the way the song is arranged is just perfect - it's a definite party starter.

We also have "Together" which is a song that takes quite a different approach, and it definitely harkens back to the classic vaporwave style in terms of its sampling techniques.

"Around" is the next song here and it's an absolutely phenomenal track - it's a dreamy and beautiful song - an amazing sample choice combined with hypnotic sample chops.

"Skylar Spence" is a definite classic - The sample here is unforgettable and the way the track develops is amazing.

After a brief interlude track we get "I Tried" which for me is the most underrated song here - the drums here are much more subtle and it actually gives off more boom bap vibes than it does future funk - despite the song being pretty different to the rest of the record, it's still a near-perfect track.

"Strawberry Lemonade" has really grown on me since I first heard it. It's one of the more laid-back songs on here (the same can be said for much of this record's B-side) but it's still a great track. The synth riff is incredible, and the way the song develops is great - definitely an amazing sample choice.

Then we have "Fantasy" which is probably the weakest song of the tracklist, but that doesn't mean it's bad whatsoever. The drums are hard-hitting, and the sample chops are well implemented. I think the beat switch at 2:14 has to be one of the best moments of the whole record.

"Miss You" is the album's closer (outside of a very short outro track) and it's genuinely a really beautiful song - a vaporwave edit of a 2013 k-pop track from the group Girl's Day, and it does a great job of closing off the album.

"Hit Vibes" is a phenomenal release - definitely the most influential future funk album of all time. It's an album that I think every fan of future funk or vaporwave should listen to at least once, because it still holds up seven years later. A truly perfect future funk album.

10/10

Fav Tracks: Hit Vibes, Have Faith, Better, Cherry Pepsi, Together, Around, Skylar Spence, I Tried, Strawberry Lemonade, Fantasy, Miss You

Least Fav Track: N/A