If Lil Uzi Vert is to Blink-182 on the pop-punk spectrum, then SKI MASK THE SLUMP GOD’s latest collection of VERY RARE LOST FILES can be placed squarely alongside Descendents’ 1981 Fat EP. Growling surf-rock rhythm guitar is exchanged for comically distorted blasts of sub-bass while fast-food lust/dad-hatred is traded in for an equally puerile barrage of references to now-defunct cartoons (Lilo and Stitch, The Emperor’s New Groove, Blues Clues, Spy Kids, etc.). It is as much a manifestation of 2k16’s brand of free-associative, pop-culturally appropriative humor as Fat is a vessel of early 80s teenage snark.
VERY RARE LOST FILES is a regurgitation of force-fed spoonfuls of millennial culture, both celebratory and dismissive — it’s a recognition of how interchangeable the ephemera we find nostalgic are, but also of how fun they are to revisit. SKI MASK is a lyrical collagist at heart, clipping from the glossy pages of Nick Magazine buried in his subconscious and pasting them to his fuzz-laden beats, which also happen to be pastiches of teenage reminiscence — the sample of “My Shiny Teeth and Me” on “NEW AGE CHIP SKYLARK” is absurdly catchy. Indulge your digital-native spirit and bump this through your earbuds while scouring Instagram for a small hit of avant-humor to get you through the day.
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