Steve 'Flash' Juon“I don’t even care no mo’
I don’t even expect life to be fair no mo’
I just wanna smoke some mo’
I just wanna go and do some real drugs some mo'”
When Surfwav.eatn called this EP “Music to Cry To” he wasn’t kidding, nor was his description of them as “emotionally numb autotune laced ballads.” If reviewing was solely about making accurate truthful statements to the people who are going to review your music, Surf would get a 10 out of 10 and there would be nothing else left to say. Regrettably there’s a LOT more to say but first allow yourself to enjoy the musical stylings of Surf below.
The good news is that Surf is not self-produced, since I don’t think he could handle more than just doing his autotuned singing. Songs like “Real Drugs” offer the most simplistic epithets possible. “Psychedelics open doors/know so much I don’t wan’ be woke no mo’/I just wanna sleep.” So do I after listening to this song. Even if that seems like a cheap shot (and it probably is) keep in mind Surf describes his songs as “the desensitized feelings of an unhealthy mental state.”
Between the production by 0413 Freek, the lackluster singing by Surf, and the terribly depressing bars showing that Surf has given up on his life, you wind up feeling just as depressed as he does. “I want unity, but society dividing you and me.” I want unity too but not at the cost of being bummed out by his music. “Real Drugs” just serves as a reminder that I do take “real drugs” and not recreationally — they’re recommended by a doctor, endorsed by a therapist, and dispensed by a pharmacist. The fact he has a producer named “smokeasac” on “Angel Wings” suggests that between artist and his collaborators there’s a whole lot of self medicating going on.
“Anxiety, keep on trying me
Expectations, from society
I don’t wanna think, no sobriety
I just wanna smoke, still in love with dope
Am I losing my mind, am I losing hope?
Depression…”
Before anyone gets it twisted like the many blunts Surf smokes, I’m NOT saying it’s wrong for art to make you feel bad. Good art is meant to provoke a response from the audience whether it’s joy, pain, laughter, tears, awe, terror, et cetera. We live in a world where just about anything can be called “art” if someone created it and someone else consume it, but being an “artist” demands something MORE. An artist needs to convey the human experience from themselves to the recipient in a way that gives both something they needed without even knowing the need was there.
I’ll admit that Surfwav.eatn is an honest dude and I’ll even grant you that he’s an artist because he’s conveying a human experience to you. I’m not opposed to art about darkness or sadness, it’s a part of life just like good times and gladness, but no matter the intended emotional response the art has to be done WELL. Surf keeps repeating himself, falling back on the same themes with little variance musically or lyrically, and his singing suddenly makes me yearn to hear autotuned Kanye crooning instead. Songs like “Puff” featuring Sleep don’t make me want to cry because I’m sad, they make me want to cry because I assaulted my eardrums with his music. I don’t hate Surf, I just feel bad for him. I just want him to go to therapy and stop self-medicating.