After 12 years of instrumental albums, Chilly Gonzales has a lot to get off his chest.
The notebooks that sat unfilled since 2011’s orchestral rap opus “The Unspeakable Chilly Gonzales” started to fill up again in early 2022 after ending a lengthy decade of psychoanalysis. Coincidence? Hardly.
The songs reveal an ongoing tension between persuasion and confession, delusion and self-awareness and finally, gratitude.
2.
Surfing the Crowd
0:30
3.
High as a Kite
0:30
4.
Fidelio
0:30
7.
Cadenza
0:30
8.
F*ck Wagner
0:30
9.
I.C.E.
0:30
10.
Eau de Cologne
0:30
11.
Poem
0:30
But is this truly a rap album? Instrumental pieces such as the Stravinsky-esque “Fidelio” or the tearjerking “Eau de Cologne” will remind listeners of Gonzo’s extravagant “musical genius” persona, as the words and rhymes from previous verses settle into their ears.