Rocket

Dominic Fike has been on a roll these past years: Sunburn, 14 minutes, Geezer, and now Rocket. That being said, as an OG Fike fan who adored Don’t Forget Me, Demos and What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, I have struggled to connect with Sunburn and 14 minutes. That’s why I was thrilled with Rocket. I felt transported back to Dom’s early days with some of the easiest listening I’ve come across. It was such a dose of nostalgia and West coast bliss that brightened my day. Rocket reminds us of Fike’s incredible ear for melodies. I think this strikes me as so refreshing because Sunburn and 14 minutes were so deconstructed and felt void of sound. Fike was constantly breaking beats, layering off-beat sounds and drums, playing around with strange vocals. While I appreciate the experimentation, many of those tracks fell flat in comparison to the delicious grooves of his earlier albums. Despite being a mixtape (which nowadays esentially means a formless album), Rocket feels cohesive without being repetitive. An excellent mixtape for the end of summer.