Denzel Curry’s ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ Refuses to Sit Still — and That’s the Point

Denzel Curry’s fifth album runs 45 minutes across 14 tracks, and it plays like a record built to move. It jumps genres without losing its footing, pulling in jazz, old-school rap, soul and hard-edged rap in the same stretch of songs. The goal is growth, not comfort, and the record spends its length proving Curry can hold together a sound this wide-ranging.

Melt Session #1 Opens the Door

The album starts with “Melt Session #1,” a track singled out by critics as a statement of intent. At just over four minutes, it sets a tone that is reflective rather than harsh, easing the listener into the record’s mood before the pace shifts.

“Walkin,” another standout, follows and pushes the tempo forward. AllMusic pointed to reflections on past errors while his verses stay dense and sharp. This track is where that quality earns its keep — the writing is dense but never rushed.

The Middle Stretch

The next run of songs moves fast and doesn’t loosen its grip.

• “Worst Comes to Worst” and “John Wayne” keep things tight, both under three minutes, working as a bridge rather than main tracks.
• “The Last” stretches out past four minutes and lets the production breathe.
• “Mental” and “Troubles” sit back to back, brief and blunt, carrying the album’s feeling without excess.
• “Ain’t No Way” runs 4:24, and it uses that space to slow the record down before the back half picks up again.

None of these are filler. They’re the bridge work that makes the sharper cuts around them land harder.

X-Wing and the Turn Inward

“X-Wing” is the album’s most singled-out track, and it deserves that attention. It’s the moment the record’s genre-hopping stops feeling like restlessness and starts feeling like control. At under three minutes, it says what it needs to and gets out.

“Angelz” follows with a longer, more musical approach, before “The Smell of Death” cuts through at just 1:20 — the shortest track here, and one of the most jarring shifts on the record.

Sanjuro, Zatoichi and the Closing Run

The album’s final stretch is where its ambitions come together most clearly. “Sanjuro” and “Zatoichi” — both named for film characters — were singled out by critics, and together they mark a shift toward something more cinematic. “Zatoichi” in particular, at three and a half minutes, lets the production stretch out.

“The Ills” closes the album at 3:22, another track that reviewers called out by name. It doesn’t tie things up neatly. It ends the record on the same restless energy that opened it.

One review described the album as feeling “not caught in time, instead spanning and encompassing it.” That’s the clearest way to describe what Curry is doing across these 14 tracks — refusing to sit still.

Running Order

Another review praised the album for “providing a priceless sense of self-discovery as he explores his countless” sides, and that’s exactly the effect of hearing all 14 tracks back to back. The genre shifts aren’t a trick. They’re the point.

Not every track needs its own attention, and Curry doesn’t force one. The record trusts its structure.

Some critics felt the sprawling feature list and constant genre-hopping occasionally blurred the album’s focus. That’s a fair note. But the ambition here is worth more than the moments where it stretches thin, and the record’s high points — “Melt Session #1,” “Walkin,” “X-Wing,” “Sanjuro,” “Zatoichi,” “The Ills” — are strong enough to carry the rest.

This is Curry’s most complete album to date, and it holds together across a wide range of style without losing its identity. It rewards a full listen more than a shuffled one.

2022 albums · album review · Denzel Curry · hip-hop · rap