Head In The Clouds – Album Review

Image by Brandon Kim

Image by Brandon Kim

By Brian Kim, Staff Writer
September 5, 2019

Head in the Clouds is one of 88rising’s most popular albums with a whopping stream count of over 100 million on Spotify. Sean Miyashiro, one out of the two founders of the media company, recently held a festival for their album on August 17th while also teasing a release of a second version of the album (Head in the Clouds 2) due to its success. More than a year after the release, I decided I would give it a listen to refresh myself with the summer vibes. Here are some of my personal top tracks throughout my listen:

  1. La Cienaga

This song features famous Indonesian singer NIKI and the fresh vocals of Joji, a Japanese singer. It is slow paced, and a perfect instrumental beat for the singing duo. In my opinion, the song is beautiful, slow, and romantic, and I definitely enjoyed this one a lot.

  1. Red Rubies

“Red Rubies“ is a rap song with Rich Brian, Yung Bans, Yung Pinch, Higher Brothers, and Don Krez, few from another mass media musical group, Lyrical Lemonade. The beat and the rapping go together to create a good flow, but the lyrics themselves are mostly about money, and exes, which makes the song quite mediocre.

  1. Peach Jam

Joji immediately opens up the track with a catchy glide in his lyrics. Personally, I felt this track lift my mood up to a positive level. BlocBoy JB is another good addition to the song, adding a breezy and fun vibe. I would give this song a 10/10.

  1. Midsummer Madness

Now, onto our best song of the entire album, “Midsummer Madness.” The song features most of the original 88rising crew: Joji, Rich Brian, Higher Brothers, and AUGUST 08 (NIKI is not on this track. Though, in my opinion, her addition would have improved the track). Joji’s chorus elicits relaxed and fresh feelings as he sings about being free and being yourself. His chorus rides perfectly with the guitar notes of the instrumental tunes. 

  1. Lover Boy 88

“Lover Boy 88“ is Head in the Clouds’ most cheerful song. Higher Brothers partners with the talented Thailand vocalist Phum Viphurit to make a catchy and romantic song. The song features a chorus of relaxing tunes from Viphurit and Higher Brothers member, Melo.  Additionally, MaSiWei’s fun raps adds a happy vibe to the track.