When Lil Yachty’s new album Let’s Start Here was released on January 27th, the main word that initially popped into listeners’ heads was “surprising”. 

Although Lil Yachty has been consistently releasing albums every 2-3 years since 2016, this album has stood out from the rest, as it sounds like nothing else Lil Yachty has released thus far. It is clear that Let’s Start Here draws a magnitude of inspiration from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, but also is able to put his own spin on the sound. 

Certain sounds that stuck out to me in the album are this seemingly drug-induced, shimmery synthetic sound composed of high notes on the piano and soft feminine vocals. It is clear to see that Lil Yachty has officially and successfully dipped into the genre of psychedelic rock. 

Lil Yachty is able to exceptionally build up switches in the tempo in his songs, especially in “the BLACK seminole.” Another aspect of this album I really enjoyed was the female voice that appeared on most of the tracks. In the song “pRETTy”, she not only sings but also recites a mini monologue. 

Personally, I really enjoyed this album. It was unique and modern while still able to pay homage to Pink Floyd and other psychedelic rock sounds. The one issue I have with this album is that while I was listening, midway through the songs seamlessly blurred together. While it is good Lil Yachty was able to nail a singular mood the songs portray, I personally got a little bored. Some of my favorite songs from Let’s Start Here were “the BLACK seminole.”, “drive ME crazy!”, “THE zone~”, and “WE SAW THE SUN!”. Overall, I rate this album an 8.5/10.