Thundercat

You may recall Thundercat from his guest spot on Flying Lotus’s “MmmHmm,” off 2010’s Cosmogramma. “It’s plain to see, for you and me, love,” Stephen Bruner sings over epileptic hip-hop percussion and stuttering ’70s keyboards. It seems the love affair between the two has culminated with Thundercat’s debut, The Golden Age of Apocalypse, released on Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder label and produced by the man himself. The sometimes bass player for Suicidal Tendencies, Bruner, along with his space-bass noodling, has long been a part of the SoCal music scene. Combining genially breezy vocals, splashy cymbals, and diffuse jazz keyboards, the album is driven less by beats and more by experimental songwriting. Although he does delve into steady hip-hop percussion at times, Thundercat may be at his most impeccable when he distorts the tempo beyond recognition—or better yet, abandons it entirely.