6A — Monday, September 12, 2016
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

By SAM ROSENBERG

Daily Arts Writer

If there’s anyone currently in

pop culture with an idiosyncratic
personality and perspective on
life, it’s arguably
Donald Glover.
The 32-year-old
wunderkind
actor/rapper
first
rose
to

prominence on
YouTube,
and

then as a young
writer for NBC’s
“30
Rock”

before scoring a
role on the cult
hit “Community.” But around
2011, Glover began an unex-
pected route into the world of
hip-hop, releasing a multitude of
EPs and mixtapes under the Wu-
Tang generated moniker Childish
Gambino. Though most critics
didn’t initially take him seriously,
Glover developed a loyal fanbase
and thus continued to perform as
Childish. He toured, released his
second studio album Because the
Internet in 2013 and his EP Kauai
in 2014.

As he eventually cut ties with

“Community” and his stand-up
background,
Glover
gradually

went from being known as the
goofy Troy on “Community” to a
serious, hard-working and occa-
sionally self-deprecating artist.
Glover puts his knowledge of
hip hop and comedy to good use,
intersecting them beautifully and
almost seamlessly as the writer,
producer and star of the FX sit-
com “Atlanta.”

Blessed with an incredible

cast, breathtaking visuals and
authentic writing, the refreshing
“Atlanta” achieves a rare balance
between witty, deadpan humor
and pathos that most comedies
about success and the American
Dream struggle to attain. Next to
“Master of None,” “Atlanta” is the

Goldilocks of socially conscious
comedy: thought-provoking with-
out being didactic, eccentric but
not alienating and intelligent with-
out trying to be high-brow.

Among the few exciting TV pro-

grams showcasing more diverse
storytelling — “Master of None,”
“The Get Down,” “The Carmi-
chael Show” and the upcoming
“Insecure” — “Atlanta” is a huge
standout, presenting the modern
day Black experience with both
hilarious and sobering results.

Glover leads as straight-man

Earnest “Earn” Marks, a Princeton
dropout struggling with a dead-
end job at the airport and a compli-
cated home situation with Vanessa
(newcomer Zazie Beetz), his best
friend and the mother of his infant
daughter. But once he discovers
his cousin Alfred (Brian Tyree
Henry, “Boardwalk Empire”) is
an up-and-coming rapper named
Paper Boi, Earn sees an oppor-
tunity to manage him and make
something out of his own life.

Plot-wise, “Atlanta” can seem

like another conventional com-
ing-of-age story, and in a sense,
it is deceptively simple. How-
ever, with Glover’s deft sensibili-
ties and keen observational eye,
“Atlanta” spins the formula in a
thoughtful and entertaining way,
making us laugh in one scene and
pensively reflect during another.

Directed by music video film-

maker Hiro Murai, “Atlanta” ’s
first two episodes make the most
out of developing the characters
and story, even showing the city
itself as a character. Murai adopts
a visual style as unconventional
and intriguing as “Mr. Robot” ’s,
utilizing the city’s spacious exte-
rior with beautiful aerial shots
and gorgeous wide shots and the
interiors of city complexes with
soft focus and intimate framing.

While the pilot, “The Big

Bang,” spends most of its half-
hour setting up the story, as any
first episode would, it quickly

establishes each main character’s
voice and personality, illustrated
by the dynamic of Earn, Paper
Boi and his soft-spoken assistant
Darius (an excellent Keith Stan-
field, “Straight Outta Compton”).
At first, Paper Boi is reluctant to
bring Earn aboard his burgeon-
ing rap enterprise, believing that
he’s only trying to manage him
for the money. Both Earn’s per-
sistence and Paper Boi’s hesitance
seem genuine, thanks to their
witty banter and both Glover and
Henry’s acting chops. However,
once Earn gets Paper Boi’s song on
the radio, they join forces. Things
seem to turn for the better until
a hostile encounter with a hater
leads both Earn and Paper Boi to
jail.

In the second episode, “Streets

on Lock,” Earn and Paper Boi
each experience the aftermath
of that encounter to an equally
gut-busting and terrifying effect.
Uncomfortable with the early
trappings of fame, Paper Boi
attempts to divert his fans, but
can’t seem to escape his notoriety.
Simultaneously, while Earn waits
in processing, he witnesses the
mistreatment of the mentally ill,
police brutality and transphobia
in three blistering sequences. His
awkwardness in these situations
provide some much-needed levi-
ty, but these scenes will neverthe-
less render you speechless.

The beauty of “Atlanta” is that

it never once feels like it’s try-
ing so hard to showcase why its
observations on societal issues
are important; it just does. The
camera simply captures Earn,
Paper Boi and Darius journey-
ing through mundane everyday
situations in the trenches of the
Georgian capital. To sum it up:
“Atlanta” is definitely one of the
best (if not the best) shows of the
fall season and truly captures the
peak of Donald Glover’s career as
an artist and voice of our genera-
tion.

Peachy ‘Atlanta’

A

Atlanta

Series Pre-
miere (Two
episodes
watched)

FX

TV REVIEW
ALBUM REVIEW
Grouplove plays it
safe on new Big Mess

By SHIMA SADAGHIYANI

Daily Arts Writer

“We’re back in business /

you’re such a big mess / and I
love you,” is how Grouplove’s
new album, Big
Mess,
begins,

and it’s these
three lines that
largely
sum

up the rest of
the
album:

a
very
big,

aimless
mess

that,
though

unrestricted
in
its
guitar

strums
and
happy-go-lucky

vocals, you can’t help but love.

Despite the overall chaos of

Big Mess, the album starts off
relatively organized. “Welcome
to Your Life” is a flashy
attention-grabber of an intro
song, very reminiscent of 2011-
era Grouplove. Its hippie, feel-
good sound directly mimics
old iconic Grouplove favorites
like “Tongue Tied” and “Lovely
Cup.” “Welcome to Your Life” is
the perfect first song because it
skillfully captures Grouplove’s
entire appeal as a band: the
promise that, no matter where
you are (even if it’s dreary
Michigan in mid-November),
within the first few notes,
you’re instantly transported to
somewhere stress-free, with
warm sand underneath your
toes and the sun illuminating
all the beauty this world has
to offer. With this first track,
Grouplove grabs your hand and
says “welcome to our album; it
can also be your life.”

Attention
successfully

captured,
Grouplove
wastes

no time showcasing their best
qualities through the songs
“Do You Love Someone” and

“Standing in The Sun.” Both
of these tracks are mellower
than
“Welcome
To
Your

Life,” yet both contain the
same
uninhibited
quality.

In every moment of these
songs, Grouplove is holding
nothing back; the background
instruments
clash
together

to produce a cacophony of
sound that fits so perfectly
with the simple, yet genuine
vocals.
Grouplove
isn’t

afraid to be cluttered, and
in their imperfection comes
authenticity. “Do You Love
Someone” and “Standing in The
Sun” are personable, optimistic
and entirely pure in their
pandemonium.

Many of the songs in Big

Mess, like “Good Morning” and
“Cannonball,” hold these same
qualities. In fact, looking at the
individual songs in the album
separately, Grouplove continues
to put 110%, no holds barred,
into each and every note.

However,
a
problem

materializes when viewing the
album as a whole. Despite the
vivacity of distinctive songs,
there’s hardly any distinction in
sound from one song to the next.
Big Mess, overall, flatlines.
While none of the songs are
horrendous, they do all seem
to blur into one giant clamor of
California beach vibes and free
spirit alt rock when listened

to as a whole. For example,
“Spinning,” when heard on its
own, is a light song that’s easy
and fun to listen to. The line,
“Me, I can never stop my world
from spinning” layers perfectly
over the simple, optimistic
jangle
of
the
background

music. However, when heard in
succession with the extremely
similar “Good Morning” and
“Cannonball,” the song loses its
charm and transforms into an
indistinct mass. The songs in
Big Mess are too homogenous,
and thus the album loses the
noteworthy characteristics that
are apparent in its individual
songs.

“Enlighten
Me”
and

“Traumatized” are the only two
songs that show any variation
from the rest of the album.
“Enlighten Me” is darker and
more melodramatic than any
typical, upbeat Grouplove song,
while “Traumatized” seems to
draw influences from bands
like Cage the Elephant and
Pixies with its angry electric
background and half-screaming
vocals. These two songs are
islands in the sea of monotony
that is Big Mess and show where
this album could’ve gone if
Grouplove had experimented
with their sound just a little
more.

Big Mess is a solid album

with notable individual songs,
but it’s very safe. Grouplove
isn’t
making
any
leaps
or

experiments, nor do they seem
to want to. To take a stab at
relevancy, whatever Grouplove
produces next needs to take
their sound up to the next
level. But for now, unassuming,
easygoing uniformity is the
only thing to expect from Big
Mess.

B-

Big Mess

Grouplove

Atlantic Records

The problem
is Big Mess,

overall, flatlines.