The Sun

Bliss n Eso’s seventh studio album starts with a dramatic spoken-word monologue that segues into haunting choral vocals and a banging trap-inspired beat. The intention is clear: MCs Bliss (Jonathan Notley) and Eso (Max MacKinnon) are back, as big, bold, and bursting with braggadocio as ever. That vibe buzzes through “On One” (featuring a rapid-fire contribution from UK grime legend Dizzee Rascal and a guest vocal from New Zealand’s Kings), the West Coast-inspired “OG’s,” and “Cadillac Outta Hell,” its amalgam of bluesy guitar licks, honking harmonica, and a body-shaking beat earmarking it as a sure favorite for live crowds. It’s not all big beats and bragging, though—the poignant “Good People” references the 2017 tragedy in which stuntman Johann Ofner was shot and killed during the video shoot for single “Friends Like You”: “Imagine someone dying on your music video/Can you fathom how soul-destroying/That gets into you.” It’s also an opportunity to hear Australian country music superstar Kasey Chambers singing lines like “I got them good people, fly people holding me up/My neighborhood people/My people, they give a fuck.”