WRITTEN IN PLAIN AMERICAN ENGLISH.
About
CLAY TRIBUNE.
Advertisement

Haram Review: Armand Hammer and The Alchemist Mostly Deliver on Warm Samples and Strong Singing

A record that sits between hip-hop and soul, mostly succeeding, with Aubergine standing out among its tracks.

By mitch·2 min read
A singer stands bathed in warm light near a spinning record, evoking the album's blend of hip-hop and soul.

Haram is a record built on warm samples and a singer who sounds like he grew up in both worlds, and it mostly succeeds. The album runs 14 tracks and 39 minutes, and the production leans on soulful textures throughout.

Opening Run

Sir Benni Miles opens the record with a steady beat that sets the tone, while Roaches Don’t Fly and Black Sunlight keep things moving without much fuss. Indian Summer and Aubergine are where the record starts to find its shape, with the latter showing off some of the strongest singing on the album.

God’s Feet and Peppertree pass quickly, competent but easy to forget beside the stronger tracks around them.

Advertisement

Middle Stretch

Scaffolds picks up the pace, and Falling Out the Sky and Wishing Bad stretch past three minutes with some of the best melodies on Haram. Chicharrones and Squeegee keep the energy high, though neither quite reaches the peaks of the songs before them.

Robert Moses is a short, sharp cut that doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Closing Pair

Stonefruit closes the album on its longest note, a four-minute closer that gives the record a proper ending rather than just stopping.

Track Length
Sir Benni Miles 2:59
Roaches Don’t Fly 1:28
Black Sunlight 2:43
Indian Summer 2:40
Aubergine 3:17
Stonefruit 4:17

Aubergine stands out as one of the strongest tracks on Haram.

Final Word

The middle portion of Haram, from Indian Summer through Wishing Bad, is where the record earns its keep. Those five tracks carry the weight of the album, while the shorter cuts that open and close it are competent but less memorable. Haram isn’t perfect, but it knows what it wants to be and mostly delivers on that promise.

The recordHaram Armand Hammer & The Alchemist14 tracks · 40 min
  1. Sir Benni Miles2:59
  2. Roaches Don’t Fly1:28
  3. Black Sunlight2:43
  4. Indian Summer2:40
  5. Aubergine3:17
  6. God’s Feet2:17
  7. Peppertree2:00
  8. Scaffolds2:55
  9. Falling Out the Sky3:40
  10. Wishing Bad3:45
  11. Chicharrones3:28
  12. Squeegee2:53
  13. Robert Moses1:35
  14. Stonefruit4:17
Album reviews
Advertisement

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *