“The Anxiety Theory” review by John M. Ellison IV

“The Anxiety Theory” review by John M. Ellison IV

Here we have rapper Donnie Darko’s new album, “The Anxiety Theory.” I’ve been meaning to review this album for like a month actually. But, remember I’m doing all of the writing here and these reviews are a fairly meticulous process to execute so expect the occasional delay. But, I digress. “The Anxiety Theory” is more of a continuation of Darko’s previous album “As Death Takes Place.” At first listen, I haven’t really noticed any stark contrasts between this album and the previous release. That’s not a bad thing though; it shows that he’s consistent with his work.

Like the previous release, “The Anxiety Theory” is produced by DJ Bless. With Bless, expect his signature sound that usually includes a shuffle drum pattern that would probably remind you of east coast rap, sampling of 70’s R&B pitched up and then samples of “whatever-core” genre laced throughout the album. You could say that aside from the apparent contrast the adhesive in this is the shuffle beat. Maybe that’s just me though.
Similar to the previous album, I noticed that Darko doesn’t really make albums with “songs” per se. To me, they’re more like journal entries that rhyme. They’re fairly short entries and to the point too. From what I’ve noticed, the longest song on the album clocks in at 3:26.

That being said, I’ve noticed on this album and the previous release is the eschewing of common song structure that you would find in current mainstream rap. For most of “The Anxiety Theory”, the common verse/chorus/verse structure that’s used often in rap isn’t used on most of the tracks. Well, except for “Loser Pt. 6″ featuring McNastee and “The War Within.”

Aside from “Loser Pt. 6” and “The War Within”, the tracks that really stuck out to me word play wise are “The Anxiety Theory”, “For Better or Worse” and “Vintage.” If you follow me on “Twitter” you probably know that almost every Friday I shout out Darko and refer to him as a lyrical gymnast. These songs are an example why I use that term for him.

In closing, if you enjoyed Donnie Darko’s “As Death Takes Place”, 80’s-90’s rap with a shuffle beat laced with 2000’s “-core” breakdowns. Then this is something that you would probably enjoy.