Kanye West- 808s & Heartbreak (****)

It’s already being said, but I might as well reiterate it: 808s & Heartbreak is Kanye West’s Kid A.

Much like the daring and adventurous Radiohead, West has crafted an album that has succeeded in A) A complete stylistic overhaul, and B) Acts as an incredibly astute observation on pop/consumer culture as well as what it means to be a human being in 2008. Stripping his sound away from the old school soul that marked his first two releases and the Daft Punk trickery of Graduation, West has coalesced his love for the T808 drum machine and Auto-Tune (Of T-Pain fame) into the most introspective pop record in the past decade.

From the Clockwork Orange-like opening of “Say You Will” listeners are greeted to a vastly different artist than the sarcastic up-and-comer that gave us “Gold Digger.” The track plods along with sparse electro beeps and blips, as ominous backing vocals and spaced-out drums provide the backbone for West’s digitized croon. His voice dips and dives, exploring loss with lines like, “Wish this song would really come true/I admit I still fantasize about you...about you…”

While much has been said about West’s singing (Pre AND Post Auto-Tune) the concept he’s working with is an interesting one. 808s’ use of Auto-Tune was incorporated to mimic the feeling of “heartbreak.” Against thick smashing beats and descending synthesizers “Welcome To Heartbreak” finds West questioning the value of the mountain he’s so desperately wanted to climb. It’s a dicey move, mimicking the banality of pop culture with a vocoder as he laments on how, “My friend showed me pictures of his kids/And all I could show him were pictures of my cribs…”

To the casual fan, it might seem as though Kanye’s copping out to follow the bandwagon, but his somber lyrics make one delve a bit deeper than the compressed surface. 808s & Heartbreak is decidedly sparse, evoking the emptiness West sees in pop culture as well as his own life, losing both his fiance and mother in the same year. Yet for as grim and cold as the record is, it’s certainly not bereft of hooks.

“Love Lockdown” has been screaming Top 40 since its leak earlier this year. And with good reason, the killer hook of, “I’m not lovin’ you/The way I wanted to/What I had to do/Had to run from you…” simply implants itself into your brain without mercy. Through the track, West’s voice goes through some surprising changes, velvety smooth one moment and digitally crunchy the next. His R&B delivery works alongside the minimalist beat and Chopsticks-inspired piano, rather than fighting with it, as “Love Lockdown” eventually grows into a dense tribal crescendo.

Elsewhere, “Amazing (Feat. Young Jeezy)” is a cocky romp through click-clacky beats, pulsing dance grooves, and jaunt piano as the chorus swells with swirling backing vocals. All the while, West’s compressed vocals come across fluidly as he sings, “No matter what/You'll never take that from me/My reign is as far/As your eyes can see…” Almost operatic in scope, “Amazing” proves that West still has an ear for melody despite being bogged down with all the aforementioned *ahem* heartbreak.

Yet if there is one area where 808s hiccups, it’s in the fact that West isn’t a gifted singer.

His delivery sometimes comes off awkwardly, some of his hooks missing the mark and feeling forced. And for a star that made his bread and butter rapping, it’s striking to see West push his voice this way. The album’s true miss is the overly goofy synth-pop of “Paranoid (Feat. Mr. Hudson).” Owing much to the 80s as West’s influences often do, it’s a disaster of trite lyrics and half staccato rapping, set to saccharine electro melodies.

Being that this is a pop record, it’s the only track that succumbs to the genre’s propensity to feel overly manufactured. Still, this is but a minor distraction to the ideas and sounds West is working with. The wistful “Street Lights” is over before it really takes off, but West’s pained voice is expertly set against a backdrop of fleeting electronics, syrupy backing vocals, and thumping beats.

Say what critics will about 808s & Heartbreak’s minimalist approach to music, West can still craft exciting and dynamic arrangements.

For this look no further than the album’s incredible stand out, “RoboCop.” The track’s relentless beat underscores a fleet of rich strings and West’s robotic vocals. It’s impressive as the track climbs, erupting in mechanized sound bites and a fluttering back beat. Accentuated with twinkling chimes and West’s soundtrack ready strings, there’s no doubt that listeners will revel West’s often geeky parallels in referring to his cold lover as, “That girl from Misery…” If nothing else, “RoboCop’s” indulgent tendencies remind us that there is a human face to the cold austere of 808s & Heartbreak and that’s precisely why this record succeeds.

Kanye West, while providing listeners with a sterile atmosphere, has given us and incredibly personal and human album. 808s & Heartbreak has a soul, despite the instrumentation, and doesn’t get lost behind it’s compression like so many others records in the pop and hip-hop genre’s today.

And with a record such as this under his belt, it’s refreshing to think that the sky’s the limit for Mr. West, despite his broken heart.

Sounds Like: Graduation (Kanye West), Invincible (Michael Jackson), Kid A (Radiohead)

Key Cuts: Amazing (Feat. Young Jeezy), Love Lockdown, RoboCop

Click on the artwork to sample some of 808s & Heartbreak for yourself!