At the beginning of summer last year, I vividly remember doing my usual digital crate digging on Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music, etc. searching for something brand new that I haven’t heard of before. I was in the mood for something exciting; something that wasn’t on the front page of these music platforms. After about a couple hours of sifting through tunes and clicking on similar artists tabs, I finally stumbled on a song that really caught my ear. “El Dorado” by Choker was an undeniably captivating track from just listening to the first 30 seconds of it. It had everything I needed at the moment: a smooth, but experimental instrumental, a good melody, and some lyrics with depth. It was the standout track from the young self-produced Michigan artist from his debut project titled PEAK, which received high praise from several media outlets at the time. The project was full of ambitious, unpolished sounds that were refreshing to hear for music junkies all-around. So much so, that he began to draw comparisons to Frank Ocean by multiple music blogs.
A little more than a full year later, Choker is back with his sophomore effort Honeybloom.
Lost in the midst of major releases by Travis Scott, YG, and Mac Miller, Choker quietly announced his album would be released on August 3rd with a simple tweet that included just the album artwork and release date. No other press or marketing was done prior to the release, and that speaks to one of the major appeals of Choker. He remains somewhat of a mysterious figure even after putting out PEAK a year ago. He isn’t really active on social media and he doesn’t do many interviews. He has only a Twitter account and a website where he promotes Honeybloom — and that’s it.
After a couple days of digesting Astroworld, Stay Dangerous, and Swimming, I decided to take a break and finally give Honeybloom a listen. Instantly, I felt the regret of not turning to it sooner. On this album, Choker shows his maturation as an artist making this more cohesive sounding than PEAK did. PEAK was all over the place, but you could appreciate the raw and exciting sounds he was experimenting with. In Honeybloom, he expands on his songwriting capabilities and takes it to another level with production.
STANDOUT TRACKS
“DRIFT”
This was the perfect way to set the tone for the rest of the album. Choker finds himself singing in a melodic tone over a soothing instrumental sound with lines like “I’m just counting down blocks to my refuge/Plenty capable, I don’t need rescue.” The second half of the track features him rapping in a fast pace while highlighting the fact he’s focused on his own goals and not worried about others.
“Juno”
Beginning with a soft, slow-pitched voice where Choker belts out lines such as “Boy, you’re so tragic/Your floor was damaged from months ago” on a beautiful mellow instrumental that breaks out into a euphoric state a minute and twenty seconds in where Choker’s voice is then restored to normal pitch. “Juno” features quite possibly the most enjoyable instrumental on the whole album, which makes for great replay value.
“Rocket”
Probably my favorite track after four or five full listens of the album is the six-minute masterpiece titled “Rocket.” Choker’s confidence shines brightly as he kicks off the track by rapping witty lines such as “Stay isolated like Kobe in Staples” and then breaks off into full R&B mode with smooth vocals over a smooth beat changeup.
RATING
4 out of 5
People may look at Honeybloom as an album that will hold them over while they patiently wait for the next Frank Ocean album, but this project deserves more respect than that. It’s an album that needs to be listened to multiple times before being able to fully appreciate it for what it is. This project shows that he’s finally coming into his own sound a year after his debut, and he’s separating himself from the mold people want to place him in. He might be difficult to understand and connect with since he’s somewhat of a recluse, but he’s surely getting respect and recognition from his peers. On Twitter, he’s followed by the likes of Kevin Abstract, Clairo, and MadeinTYO to name a few artists, along with several music execs that have him on their radars. It’s time for people to pay attention to Choker, and hopefully, Honeybloom is the album that does the trick for him.
Listen to Honeybloom in its entirety here.
Follow Choker on Twitter and NothingMag.TV on Instagram.
