As well as #1 on Adult Contemporary for a THIRD week in a row, on this upcoming Tuesday (Dec 19/23) chart update.
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Ashnikko Album Review: WEEDKILLER
(Parlophone/Warner Records)
BY JORDAN MAINZER
It's rare that someone's debut album is a concept record, though if anyone were to successfully on first pass navigate the murky waters between establishing a fictional narrative and making a larger statement about humanity as a whole, it would be trap metal singer-songwriter and rapper Ashnikko. On WEEDKILLER, a fairy civilization has been destroyed by machines, and the protagonist essentially becomes part machine in order to uproot the system from within. You can immediately see parallels to the crises of our time, from climate change to the legislative war on people with uteruses and LGBTQ+ folks; Ashnikko doesn't suggest to either burn it all down or incrementally pick battles, instead focusing on their own emotions to elicit empathy. It works to cement both their imperfections and wants.
Fittingly, some of the best songs on WEEDKILLER are about desire, especially queer desire. The Daniela Lalita-featuring erotica of "Super Soaker" skitters to corporeal heights. "Don't Look At It" is less spiritual, more physical, Ashnikko comparing themselves to Tony Hawk as they're "doin' tricks until my tongue hurt." "Miss Nectarine" details Ashnikko's childhood friend who they'd make out with to "practice for the boys," Ashnikko developing unrequited feelings. "The bruise of bein' fourteen / Got chlorine in our hair, my jaw is shaking in my mouth," they sing, the warbly auto-tune an effective window into their emotional volatility. And "Possession of a Weapon", written after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, effectively alternates between anger and mournful acceptance. "How dare I have private desires?" Ashnikko asks, at the same time realistically and sadly comparing their own body to a chess piece in a game played by lawmakers, their autonomy as strong against oppressive rain as papier-mâché.
Ashnikko has been making music for almost a decade and releasing it for over half that time, so they've certainly established somewhat of a visual and sonic identity. WEEDKILLER doesn't upend what they'd been exploring on their EPs and debut mixtape DEMIDEVIL, but it's certainly their most cohesive statement yet. The title track and "World Eater" form not just the conceptual but musical base for the whole album, a conglomerate of trap beats, cascading synths, and power chords. "Worms", in which Ashnikko makes the best of their own decomposition within a post apocalyptic-world, features surprisingly limber bars and inventive rhyme schemes, as they declare, "Brand-new day, got a brand-new grin / Got a colony of ants underneath my skin / My bones decay, now I'm gelatin / I swear I'm better, Miss Parasite Possessor." From nu metal jams with metallic, clanging percussion to obvious, but successful Britney and Rihanna tributes, Ashnikko fulfills the promising pop dexterity they merely hinted at on previous releases.
And then there's "Dying Star", which takes another sonic left-turn and perhaps hints at where Ashnikko could go next. Featuring gothic Americana troubadour Ethel Cain, Ashnikko finds an aesthetic nestled somewhere in between the hyper-aggression of the rest of WEEDKILLER and Cain's slow-burning epics. The two harmonize, over repeatedly echoing guitar strums and bass lines, Ashnikko at one point singing, "I want something soft." After an album's worth of diss tracks and feelings bursting at the seams, they finally let themselves be vulnerable.
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