The Weekly Coos

After countless EPs and mixes, Channel Tres has decided to bless us with his first album, Head Rush, and as he goes through his motions to give us something unique, like when he first emerged on the scene, giving us some fun bops woven between tracks that see some self-awareness and extensions of grandeur. Tres pushes himself away from a more subset pop cadence that would focus on earworms for the head when he wants to keep some composure and relish in his strengths as he combs through with some solid hits and collaborations. Unfortunately, the album does have its pitfalls like some weak production and slick pacing that can make you feel like that album has come and gone without a sliver of feeling that it didn’t feel like 50 minutes. What I love about Tres, and though not the first person to do so, is the focus on rap with the vocal performances, something we rarely see from DJs. Head Rush is fun and introspective, offering much to fans with hypnotic features and momentous highs, that it’s a disappointment I didn’t leave feeling 10/10.

Head Rush opens beautifully, developing an identity about distilling the thoughts in Channel Tres’s head. The eponymous track functions as an instrumental that sets up the sonic textures, using its vocals to create a semblance of his mind where the thoughts are colliding. It makes the delivery of his music much more impactful as the expectancy shifts from someone looking to get elevated via light poppy tunes; here, Channel Tres allows the grooves to feel separate from the fray, being more of an additive instead of a defining direction. The grooves help embolden the influential linings emanating from different textures like Funk, R&B, and Hip-Hop into a more house-centric base for construction. It isn’t aiming to be club-pop or to the levels of something akin to Flowdan or Cakes Da Killa,  it’s more grounded in his reality, which is a nice detachment, despite the quality dance tracks he’s delivered before this. It steers the ship powerfully; he commands your attention with the vocals and melodies; unfortunately, not all beats come together, and the distinction between the good and poor can get glaring. The good, however, trumps the bad, which comes to you on a tremendous high, especially the delivery of his braggadociousness. 

There is a lot of solid stuff in Head Rush, and much of that comes from Channel Tres’s tenacity to drive home an impactful presence with his rapping. His vocals have shown it both ways, and having more of a focus on rap flows is great, but what can get tedious is the content, which can feel tiring, especially with a lot of the focus being on women and riches. Though that isn’t to say the content makes all tracks bad, as we get some memorable moments like “Black & Mild,” “Need U 2 Know,” “ASPEN,” “Candy Paint” and others, the misses are more apparent, like the Kid Cudi knockoff influenced “Type,” which is slightly grating to the ears. “Holy Moly” is too lenient on its basis of the House sound, doing little to elevate it and it comes off as another boring. Additionally, some minimalist moments with songs “I’m Him” and “Two Way” aren’t as impactful, becoming forgetful as you listen through. That’s why “Chain Hang Low” is a refreshing surprise when going through the album; Tres is reflective with his hustle and humbling himself. He does similarly with “Gold Daytonas,” where he blends the two beautifully.

Head Rush has a solid flow that takes steps back due to weak moments from an overall song’s construction, yet it never stood out as greatly as other albums this year, despite feeling refreshed with the influences in conjure with the beats. Channel Tres doesn’t produce it solo, but having these co-producers definitely helps flourish his sound, especially when they match the potency of the featured artists who elevate their respective songs, aside from Ty$ of course, who doesn’t move the needle like Teezo Touchdown does with his performance on “Chain Hang Low;” he’s only part of the whole and not the main construct. His appearance is as weak as Ty$, but it isn’t hindering as he just bridges verses and keeps the tone intact. It isn’t all impressive, but it has enough to keep you intrigued by this slight change in his direction, and hell, maybe next we’ll hear him collab with other rappers, for now, it’s nice to hear what he can do, even if it isn’t all that memorable. Give this a spin if you’re curious about how electronic sounds get woven in with the Funk, R&B, etc., because each artist takes it differently, and it’s fun to hear.