The Atlanta rapper’s second album’s ambitions are greater than its result.
LOVE LASTS FOREVER, Destroy Lonely’s sophomore album, finally arrived on August 30, 2024, following multiple delays. Its release came after the artist’s comment on August 15, stating on X that this album “took about a year to get right.”
The intro “FOREVER” kicks off in cinematic fashion with a high-pitched female voice and a house-style buildup before quickly devolving into a standard trap cut. This sets the tone for the album: it quickly becomes clear that the record lacks the ambition it seemingly sets out for.
The rapper also posted on X that he would be “talking about my life more here. Just expressing things different.” Outside of a few nods to a hostile relationship, the album’s lyrical content offers nothing new nor different from his usual, mundane bars about flexing, fashion, riches, and drug habits.
The album’s biggest strength lies in its production, with an improved focus on arrangement and layering. A majority of the instrumentals on the album are spacey and atmospheric, combining bells, pianos, and synthesizers that often have an 8-bit video game feel. The starry melody on “BABY MONEY” is dreamy and sounds like something taken directly from the Mario Party DS soundtrack. Paired with Atlanta trap production, the album’s sonics occasionally mimic the dynamic highs of popular trap-centric projects like Future’s DS2 and Travis Scott’s Rodeo. Take the warbly background sounds, bouncy bass, and the bells and synths resonating throughout “TAKE A TRIP”: its beat resembles outer space and constantly progresses from one section to another.
However, executive producer Lil 88’s signature hi-hat pattern plagues the first leg of the album. It consists of hi-hats hitting incessantly on every quarter count without any variation; it is used the exact same way on five consecutive tracks, a formula that becomes stale in record time.
The record picks up steam around the midpoint with more commercial-sounding beats and appeal. “PIMP TALK” features a knocking beat and an orchestral string loop. “CADILLAC” recaptures the moodiness of his debut album If Looks Could Kill, thanks to the rapper’s half-sung delivery and an R&B vocal sample. “SYRUP SIPPIN” features vivid percussion and shimmering bells, the same glitz that characterizes Zaytoven’s beats, reminiscent of Migos’ earlier work. This run of tracks mainly works as it offers up the variety that the album’s front end lacks.
Destroy Lonely’s performances do little to uphold the record. His singing is often off-kilter, and his delivery rarely changes, continuously falling back on the same nasally delivery. His presence is noticeable, but the beats breathe more life into the songs than he does.
Things close out on a weak note overall, as “AMERIKA” is full of questionable vocal inflections that soar downwards and upwards without ever sticking the landing. “THRILL” simply drones on and on for four entire minutes with its stale and stagnant beat that underlies an even more uncharacteristic trade-off between Destroy Lonely and Ken Carson.
LOVE LASTS FOREVER aims to be bigger than what it actually is. Besides a step up in production, it ultimately boils down to another run-of-the-mill trap project where the Opium record label signee offers nearly nothing new or stand-out regarding his delivery and content.
Trial Track: SYRUP SIPPIN
Score: 5.5/10
