★★★★☆

It’s been a long six years since the release of ‘It Is What It Is’, the fourth album by bassist, singer, and Instagram prankster Thundercat (real name Stephen Bruner). He’s spent the last half-decade working with the likes of Justice and Anderson .Paak, all while his solo work grew in stature, with tracks like ‘Them Changes’ and ‘Funny Thing’ becoming popular on TikTok and other social media platforms. Quietly, in the background of this collaboration, Bruner chipped away at a follow-up to ‘It Is What It Is’, and has now delivered unto us his fifth record, ‘Distracted’.

The album opens on a particularly strong note with ‘Candlelight’. It’s a classic, smooth hunk of soul from Bruner, joined by fusion duo DOMi & JD Beck (whose 2022 debut record he previously appeared on). The track doesn’t take too much time to build up, so the album just starts, as if there hadn’t been that six-year gap, like the album had always been here. It’s that confident energy that has always pulled Bruner’s solo career forward and that keeps the more introspective parts of the album from feeling overwhelmingly insecure.

While the album kicks off with the synth-heavy funk and soul that are expected from Thundercat, there is a good range of sounds across the album. ‘What Is Left To Say’ is a throwback to the timeless soul and R&B classics of the 60s, and the instrumentation on ‘Great Americans’ sounds like menu music from a forgotten Nintendo Wii channel (which, considering Bruner’s outspoken love of video games, could be intentional). ‘Distracted’ is far from a one-trick pony sonically, though it seems that Bruner has pushed all the slower tracks to its back half, which does lead it to drag a little bit towards the end.

There’s a strong grab bag of features and collaborators across ‘Distracted’. We get verses from Lil Yachty and A$AP Rocky on ‘I Did This To Myself’ and ‘Funny Friends’ respectively, and Willow pops up on the lovely ‘ThunderWave’. The Lemon Twigs appear on ‘What Is Left To Say’ and ‘Pozole’, the latter being a pretty piano ballad with some very Beach Boys vocal harmonies. Highlight ‘Anakin Learns His Fate’ even features backing vocals from actor Haley Joel Osment, of all people. Bruner has always had a strong ear for collaborators, and that trend continues on this record.

The most notable feature comes from long-time collaborator and friend, the late Mac Miller. Before his passing in late 2018, Miller had been working on the track ‘She Knows Too Much’ with Bruner, which has finally surfaced on this record. It’s a fantastic and bouncy cut of funky jazz rap, with Bruner and Miller trading between sung and rapped vocals. While it’s upsetting that Miller isn’t around for the track’s release, ‘She Knows Too Much’ is an excellent track that highlights how strong of a collaborative force these two artists were.

The seeds of ‘Distracted’ have actually been laid further back than you may expect. The overlooked 2023 Tame Impala collaboration ‘No More Lies’ makes it onto the tracklist, and it’s just as head-bobbingly catchy as when it first released. Last year’s ‘I Wish I Didn’t Waste Your Time’ is also present, though its Remi Wolf-featuring B-side ‘Children of the Baked Potato’ unfortunately didn’t make the cut. Its wild and chaotically fun energy could have added some energy to the back half of the album.

Despite those slight pacing issues, ‘Distracted’ is far from a mediocre project. Bruner continues to display such a tight understanding of groove and dynamics, while also balancing introspective, tender moments (‘What Is Left To Say’, ‘A.D.D Through The Roof’) with his trademark humour and wild antics. There may be no better example than the closing track, which is named ‘You Left Without Saying Goodbye’ and ends on the line “Maybe I should start an OnlyFans and show some feet”. It doesn’t get more Thundercat than that.