When listening to a new small artist, you’re usually going in blind. It’s difficult to determine whether it’s going to be a fulfilling experience, especially if they are relatively unknown. Given the 30+ songs that rap and R&B artist Grimm Lynn has released, it would be fair to assume the music would be of high quality. Unfortunately, none of Lynn’s songs on his EP “Sweet Heat” meet that expectation.

“Sweet Heat” is one example of the auditory dissonance throughout the album. It opens with a beat that does not match the piano-esque sound layered over it and the vocals come in at a random time with no buildup or intention. With auto-tune drenching the entire song, the vocals clash with the ground music. With this, it makes it increasingly difficult to decipher both what the lyrics say and how they relate with to rest of the song.

“Cold One” is another example. The structure of the song is all over the place. It sounds as if two concepts of songs were put together with no prior planning to it. Lyrically, this song is incredibly lackluster. “Jump in your pool / Keep your cool / I need a cold one” are meaningless and have no real thought behind them. Improvements could have been made to this song by reducing the amount of auto-tune and accommodating the sound of the vocals to the actual sound of the supporting beat to make them flow within each other more easily.

Adding to the inconsistency, some songs give off a rather Lo-Fi sound without improving in the music’s quality whatsoever. “Slow Jam” and “Party Goes On” would be more satisfying to listen to if the vocals were left out completely. Lyrics such as “Everyone was dancing / Having the time of their lives / Having no care” continue to provide no additional value, making the song lack any kind of authenticity. There is little distinction between the energy of these songs and it is hard to decipher which song is which.

Some songs are better than others, such as “Sun + Moon” and “Can’t Swim.” The first track’s lyrics are what bring it together. “Dancing with you underneath the sun and moon / These moments I hold on to / Nothing compares,” give off a feel-good energy while being backed up by an upbeat tempo, but the same conflicting sounds of drums and keyboard continue throughout. “Can’t Swim” continues the same energy and gives off a similar vibe as artists such as Kevin Abstract or Brockhampton though not nearly as popular and for good reason. 

The type of music Grimm Lynn is aiming for in this EP is nearly impossible to decipher. At certain points, the lyrics are doing too much, making the music all too distracting to genuinely enjoy. Other times, the lyrics and instruments are overly simplistic, yet, somehow, still catastrophic. With improvement to his production, Grimm Lynn has the potential to make their music more likely to spread than it is now.