How Do You Sleep At Night? Album Review: Teezo Touchdown Pioneers Boom Rock With Unpredictable Style
How Do You Sleep At Night? Album Review: Teezo Touchdown Pioneers Boom Rock With Unpredictable Style
By Dylan Barbee
Release Date: September 8, 2023
Texan artist Teezo Touchdown is hard to go unnoticed. When it comes to his appearance and style one would first recognize that there are actual nails sticking out of his hair and that he wears a lot of black clothes. His edgy and bizarre sense of style bleeds into his music to the point of listeners not knowing what to expect before hitting play on one of his songs. He could provide fans with an upbeat rap song like “Careful” or a calming and introspective alternative track like “I’m Just A Fan”. His innovative contributions to songs like “RUNITUP” on Tyler, The Creator’s Call Me if You Get Lost and “MODERN JAM” on Travis Scott’s Utopia has turned a lot of heads due to his ability to work well with these mainstream rappers while simultaneously being himself and staying true to his outlandish sound. Teezo Touchdown’s debut album How Do You Sleep At Night? does not disappoint as he proves that he is comfortable experimenting with many genres and that he is bound to be a risk-taking artist that is going to stick around for a while.
How Do You Sleep At Night? consists of 14 songs that span across 40 minutes. The songs on this project consist of new and innovative sounds that may seem out of the ordinary. Most of the time, Teezo’s risk-taking pays off but there are instances where he gets too carried away in overstating concepts that are really straight-forward.
Even though Teezo Touchdown’s lyrics are simple and easy to follow, the best part of How Do You Sleep At Night? is Teezo’s vocal ability. On the song where producer BNYX lets R&B mix with boom bap on “Sweet” featuring Foushee, Teezo’s vocal performance is what makes this song so addicting. Both Teezo and Foushee talk about their appreciation for their lovers and dive deep into what it feels like to fall in love. “Honestly, my life is sour, But when I’m with you everything’s sweet,” Teezo sings on the catchy chorus. On songs like “UUHH” and “Daddy Mama Drama” Teezo’s vocals continue to shine despite being a rare occasion in these particular songs.
Throughout the entirety of the project, Teezo Touchdown has a very animated personality when it comes to making his music. At times this cartoonish camp genre within some of the songs on How Do You Sleep At Night? provides a fun listening experience and feels like a breath of fresh air compared to other new releases. One example of this can be heard on “Familiarity” where the tone of Teezo’s voice is comedic as the way he says some of the lyrics is elastic and even ends the song repeating the word “going” in a high-pitched voice. Despite his goofy delivery at times, “Familiarity” is a great song where Teezo talks about building a life for himself where he can prioritize accomplishing his dreams. “Goodbye Mama, I gotta chase these bands, Goodbye Daddy, hope you understand,” Teezo sings.
However, there are also times where Teezo Touchdown’s animated delivery takes away from the impact of his lyrics. A lot of the lyricism on this project is straight-forward and lacks any complex writing. Teezo is definitely an artist who prioritizes style over content. At the end of “Mood Swings” Teezo says “It seems when I step out of my dreams, everything melts like ice cream,”. This would be a solid song without this pointless bridge. Another head scratching part on this album was the whole first half of the song “Too Easy” featuring Isiah Rusk where Teezo just repeatedly shouts “Too Easy,” over a rock drum loop. It honestly just felt too easy to me and underdone which is a shame because once the song finally hits the 1:54 mark, Teezo has one of his best vocal performances yet over a calming guitar loop, making it seem like a totally different song.
There are some sparks of potential though when it comes to Teezo Touchdown being a good storyteller. On “Neighborhood” Teezo illustrates the day in the life of three different people who make drastically different choices from one another which ultimately changes the outcomes of each of their lives. The character who has a positive attitude and decides to do chores around his house like replacing the fire alarm batteries or watering his plants ends up living a healthy life. The second person we are introduced to in the “Neighborhood” has dirty pots all over his kitchen because he fails to do the dishes and sleeps in until 3 pm which causes him to live an unhappy lifestyle. The third and final perspective follows a homeless person who is begging for food and money because of the mistakes he made in his past. “Neighborhood” is honestly a creative song that explores each level of America’s social class and how healthy choices impact one’s lifestyle. Another song that stood out to me when it came to its content and storytelling was “Impossible” where Teezo sings about the importance of taking risks and chasing your dreams over an upbeat alternative style production style. “Who’s to say what’s impossible? The only way is if you never start,” Teezo sings.
How Do You Sleep At Night? feels like a whole new musical experience that Teezo Touchdown is inviting listeners into with open arms. Teezo’s newest release doesn’t have a cookie-cutter approach when it comes to assembly of the track list or the unique sounds it experiments with. None of the songs seem to disrupt the flow of the artistic message behind the album just to get more listens or be mainstream which I respect. There are hints of various genres and musical styles on this album such as pop and camp, but mostly the mix of r&b, hip-hop, and rock stand out.
With the combination of sounds from the R&B genre, a writing style similar to hip-hop and the intensity of rock, Teezo Touchdown has pioneered a unique genre he has called rock and boom. Although there were some strange artistic decisions on How Do You Sleep At Night?, the album demonstrates that Teezo Touchdown isn’t afraid of being judged when making the music he wants to make. He embraces his own style in everything he does whether that be his appearance or his music and as a result people gravitate towards it. How Do You Sleep At Night is a refreshing album that I think people should visit if they want to experience a new and unpredictable sound. I am optimistic about Teezo Touchdown’s future, and I have no doubt that with the release of How Do You Sleep At Night? his fanbase and influence will only expand.
Rating: 7/10
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