Thundercat - It Is What It Is review: Bassist's best album yet fizzes with ambition

Janelle Monáe, Kali Uchis, Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar have all called upon Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, to help shape their album in recent times. This latest release — a riveting album that fizzes with ambition — explains the high demand.

The clattering, astral jazz of Innerstellar Love peaks with a transcendent sax solo from Kamasi Washington, while I Love Louis Cole sounds like someone asked the Beach Boys to write a pop-punk song for a Super Mario game — and it’s sublime. Black Qualls, with excellent features from Childish Gambino, Steve Arrington and Steve Lacy, is squelchy funk brilliance. Bruner is virtuosic on bass throughout.

Momentum dips slightly around the middle section but Dragonball Durag revives it with a slinking groove and comedic lyrics: “I may be covered in cat hair, but I still smell good.”

Unrequited Love is elegantly forlorn, while Fair Chance tenderly explores Bruner’s grief following the death of close friend and collaborator Mac Miller. Ty Dolla $ign and Lil B lend heartfelt vocals alongside Bruner’s sombre falsetto. The closing title track addresses Miller directly, and then explodes into a dark, dazzling outro. It’s a brilliant, heartfelt tribute, and a fitting end to Thundercat’s best album yet.