Bladee Spiderr Review: A Deliriously Tumultuous Sugar Rush

A descendent of Yung Lean and the Sad Boys and informal leader of the Y2K-obsessed Drain Gang, Bladee is, like many internet-era cult figures, an artist who invites either adoration or contempt. This could be due to the nature of the Swedish rapper’s musical palette, an unorthodox mix of angelic acoustic soundscapes and contemporary hip-hop instrumentation. Throw in copious amounts of Auto-Tune, theological allusions, and Jungian lyrics about ego death and self-hatred and you start to get an idea of why he’s so polarizing.

Unlike last year’s decidedly more pop-adjacent The Fool, Bladee’s eighth studio album, Spiderr, is a for-the-fans affair that might make even the most die-hard of Drainers re-consider their unfailing loyalty. Some of the compositions are so chaotic that they feel like they’re about to come apart at the seams, like “Drain Story,” which sounds like a bunch of Bop Its being tossed down a flight of stairs while Bladee’s boyish vocals provide an aloof presence to the otherwise tumultuous track. He even stutters out his breathy opening lines—“They’re trying to make me distracted/This is not a diss-track, but I don’t like that”—like he’s just gotten out of bed.

The rubbery “Nothingg” is propelled by a bouncy set of steel drums that nearly engulfs guest vocalist Wondha Mountain’s hook, which is sung in Mongolian. Elsewhere, the chiptuned “Understatement”—which features a succession of ragged bass drops that resemble a buzzsaw—evokes the 16-bit era with its blocky audio textures, resulting in a Brooklyn drill beat that sounds like it was filtered through a Super Nintendo console.

Then there’s the delirious sugar rush of “Hahah,” whose series of sparkling synthesizers—and, at one point, a viscerally wet kissing sound effect—provide the perfect catalyst to send Bladee into hysterics. He manically repeats the phrase “I’m crazy” 50 times in under 30 seconds, and by the track’s end, he finds inner peace by reversing the sentiment of the original mantra. “I’m doing great,” he wearily claims.

For those willing to go along for the turbulent 13-track ride, Spiderr ranks as one of Bladee’s most exciting releases to date, one that makes a compelling argument for why his musicianship should be taken far more seriously. The digicore banger “Icarus 3freestle” sneaks in a deceptively catchy hook among a series of abrasive bass distortions and wailing sirens as Bladee evokes the holy trinity: “It’s obviously number nine, something that words can’t describe.” On the other side of the spectrum, the sing-along “Dresden Er” emits a radiant warmth akin to that of an uptempo church hymn.

The album’s closing track, “Uriel Outro,” finds Bladee praying to the titular angel of artistic perfection, singing her praises and requesting her divine grace in his future endeavors. Which, while a graceful note to end on, may not be all that necessary. Because whether you love him or hate him, whether you think he’s sincere or just a peddler of kitsch, there’s no denying that Spiderr presents Bladee at the peak of his abilities.