Thundercat’s Distracted ends a six-year break following his Grammy-winning It Is What It Is. In that time, he toured and added Gorillaz, Silk Sonic, and Kaytranada to his list of collaborators—even finding time for an acting role in the Star Wars universe on The Book of Boba Fett. Despite the high-profile detours, Distracted finds Thundercat still working as the primary custodian of George Duke’s sophisticated fusion flame.
The standout “Thunderwave” collaboration with WILLOW flows directly out of the liquid energy of Duke’s early solo work like Feel. Storied producer Greg Kurstin takes Thundercat’s fluid bass lines and WILLOW’s ethereal vocals, crafting a sonic landscape that feels like a starry night on the shore complete with the physical movement of water. The intense rise and fall of the synthesizers takes on a theatrical bent, as Kurstin’s touch elevates the arrangement into a digital orchestra. Their chemistry is so potent it leaves one wondering what a full-length WILLOW/Thundercat project might sound like.
Mac Miller fans will find a bittersweet anchor in “She Knows Too Much,” which relies on a crisp, tasty snare, Thundercat’s signature funk, and Maurice Brown’s snazzy trumpet. From there, “Anakin Learns His Fate” serves as a genre-fluid pivot, weaving between fusion and R&B with a head-bobbing melody and soulful bass moans.
Kurstin’s cinematic synths reappear on the A$AP Rocky collaboration, “Funny Friends.” Against a backdrop of shooting starlight and a slower tempo, Rocky’s delivery feels more like spoken-word poetry than a standard rap verse. Thundercat’s vision is evident in his ability to maintain his core sonic identity, even in the face of a heavy guest list, including the arrival of dance music maven Channel Tres.
One of the album’s most intriguing turns is the trip back to ’60s psychedelic rock with The Lemon Twigs on “What Is Left To Say.” It’s a period piece that doesn’t break the album’s groove—a move strikingly similar to the way George Duke used to fold Frank Zappa smoothly into his jazz-based universe.
Distracted is another joyful voyage into Thundercat’s groove lineage that respects the roots of fusion after hip-hop.
