The “best boyband since One Direction” is back this year with their sixth album, pushing each member’s individual talent on top of star-studded features in ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE.

Listeners already know what’s coming to them with “BUZZCUT,” the first single released for the album. The track, featuring producer Jabari Manwa and rapper Danny Brown, gives listeners an explosive introduction to the album and what more it has to offer. With Manwa’s first feature on an album and Brown’s Andre-3000-esque vocals, they both break off from the usual sounds of the group and bring their own flair to the track.

JPEGMAFIA on “CHAIN ON” also effectively smashes through with a smooth flow of pop culture references. Transitioning with a Wu-Tang sample, “COUNT ON ME” centers on what brought the boys together in the first place: Relying on each other through thick or thin. As the second single off the album, the track leaves more to be desired.

There are, however, other songs that showcase the maturity of BROCKHAMPTON’s members. Vocalist Merlyn Wood’s shining moment is “BANKROLL,” a track that eluded and teased fans in 2018 and 2020. From his lines on SATURATION II’s “SWEET” to now, Wood’s development as a rapper is a story in itself.

Ciarán McDonald, a.k.a bearface., also steps up on the album. Songs like “WINDOWS” and “DEAR LORD” show that he’s capable of more than just opening and closing out the group’s albums.

The album’s melody peaks on “WHEN I BALL,” a track reminiscent of Kanye West’s The College Dropout. Its use of orchestral instruments and elements of conscious rap make it a standout. “I need you to follow and never make an exception/I nodded, she held me and wished I would be protected,” the group sings.

Nearing the end of the album, “DON’T SHOOT UP THE PARTY” delivers not only “banger” sounds from previous efforts but also a message on gun violence and suicide with stellar lyrics like “Why you gotta grab that pistol?/Think about who gon’ miss you.”

This narrative extends in “THE LIGHT” and “THE LIGHT PT. II,” whose lyrics are self-reflections of Abstract and Russell Boring a.k.a JOBA. While Abstract sings about his relationship with his mother as well as his sexuality (“Me and her just get on good terms/Thank God for them unexpected turns”), JOBA’s talking point is much closer to home by focusing his father’s suicide.

“The light is worth the wait/I promise,” JOBA heart-wrenchingly sings. “Wait, why did you do it?” The song ends on a hopeful note—that the group would make it to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Reportedly their second to the last album as a group, ROADRUNNER is a culmination of BROCKHAMPTON’s years of experimentation on mixing, vocals, and style. It may not be electric like their Saturation Trilogy, foot-stomping like iridesence, or mellow like GINGER—but if you are looking for an album that delivers all three, ROADRUNNER is it.

Matthew G. Yuching is an Externals Staffer of The GUIDON. You may contact him at matthewyuching@gmail.com.