Upcoming self-proclaimed hip-hop and R&B boy band BROCKHAMPTON released their long-awaited 5th studio album “Iridescence”’ on Sept. 21, 2018.

With the major success of their last album, “SATURATION III,” completing their saturation trilogy, fans have been waiting to see if the band plans on taking a new route with their sound, going back to their old sound or completely shocking their fanbase with something never done before.

I believe it’s fair to say that the band stayed with their typical image but added a few stand-out elements that none of us were expecting. With a scandal happening involving a former member who had allegations of illegal fornication with underage girls and domestic violence, no one truly knew if the band was going to be able to bounce back.

Saying they came back harder than ever is a complete understatement. They wanted fans to know that they’ve been working just as hard to keep their image clean, and even before the release they took major pride in what they had produced. Now it’s up to the fans to decide if they are impressed with the product.

“Iridescence’” gives you the vibe the album cover depicts. The cover is what seems to be a pregnant man in a filter that creates hues of yellow, blue, orange, green and pink. This artwork fits exactly what this album is: weird, beautifully unique, loud and creative.

First, let’s start out with the weird. BROCKHAMPTON is known for their odd soundbites and background noises that make you click replay and go back a few seconds to make sure you heard that weird screech of profanity just about right.

In songs like “BERLIN” and “J’OUVERT,” the vibe that you are in a completely different world is correctly represented. The random sounds and yells add depth to each track. The quick beat changes and switch-ups are elements BROCKHAMPTON are known for, and they correctly apply them without overdoing it.

“TONYA,” “THUG LIFE” and “WEIGHT” represent the creative side of the band. Although they can have hard beats and raps, the lyrics and stories hidden within the layers of the songs make them captivating to listen to.

“TONYA,” a stand out track of the album for me, talks about the struggles of coming up in the music industry and how the members had to facebroken promises to finally come up and be able to have the careers they dreamed of. The raps are aggressive and mad but it shows the emotion they were feeling in that moment so unlike rappers who just rap, they rap to send messages.

When you hear a typical BROCKHAMPTON song, you think of loud and a lot going on. In the opener “NEW ORLEANS” and other tracks including “WHERE THE CASH AT” and “DISTRICT,” you get the evident party sound that the group does not stray away from but ultimately embraces because of how difficult the style is to pull off.

Taking a risk with your sound, but still being able to sound like the same group, is impress and hard to pull of. This creative aspect leaves you waiting to see what other things the group is going to try. At first it can be intimidating to hear so many different sounds but if you love music, and the songs are produced vividly, you are able to fall in love with every second from start to finish.

Along the lines of a creative nature, BROCKHAMPTON has some of the smoothest transitions between songs that can leave you breathless. For example, the transition between “WHERE THE CASH AT” and “WEIGHT” goes from a hip-hop version of the song into a more slow ballad version. The transition is so seamless and effortless although it takes a lot of precision to mix beats at different tempos.

It is elements like these that set BROCKHAMPTON apart from others in the industry. They have innovated what the genre of hip-hop is expected to be. It does not have to be raping 24/7, the same rhythms, the typical song structure or the lyrics being about the same situations a rich rapper can have.

They tend to mess with the typical outlines of songs and do what they want in a way that still works but isn’t too out the box making it sound ridiculous. Trying something new and different, and being able to pull it off is not a skill a lot of artists have.

As a BROCKHAMPTON fan, I am completely impressed with this album. Each song has its own individual purpose and guides to help create a vivid picture of how the band is ready to make their own mark on the industry — in the way they choose to do it.

Even in “Iridescence” it is evident that the band taking their own route is what ensures their own success. The levels of creativity they go to are out of this world and goes deep into their own. When you listen to one of their albums, you feel like you are truly in the future of music.