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SATURATION III

by BROCKHAMPTON

Released December 15, 2017 via Question Everything / EMPIRE

Reviewed January 13, 2023

Top tracks (based on community voting)
BOOGIE (59%), BLEACH (49%), SISTER/NATION (41%)

The first two thirds of the SATURATION trilogy dropped during the end periods of spring and summer respectively, which for many aren’t far apart. A lot of people class June as part of summer anyway, as its solstice starts then. So to cap the trilogy off on the brink of winter instead of autumn goes to show that SATURATION III not only feels different in context, but was made differently, too. ‘BOOGIE’ and ‘SISTER’ are the only high-velocity tracks on this one - everything is fairly tame and tempered, with the occasional upbeat chorus (‘ZIPPER’) or thrilling hook (‘STUPID’). The beats whir and flow, rather than leap and punch. I prioritised the latter while II flitted in between either style, so III is a natural progression.


Speaking of progression, this album’s track transitions are the strongest it gets in the trilogy, connecting a song to something before and after it with minute motifs like sirens integrated into the instrumentals across the first two tracks, or the plinky guitar flicks of ‘STUPID’ depressing in emotional character, melancholically distorting and bumping into one another during ‘BLEACH’. BROCKHAMPTON also balance the hallmarks of being hip-hop and being a boyband better here than on II, but compared to I they simply do it differently. Chemistry is less lyrically and more melodically based, with the harmonic refrains of ‘HOTTIE’ and ‘LIQUID’ standing out. SATURATION I felt like the spawn of late-00s Kanye, while III assumes a less chaotic The Life of Pablo personality. The falsettos from ‘LIQUID’ more than mirror those heard on ‘Wolves’ - as much as I’m raving about this song in particular, it’s definitely the trilogy’s weakest, which goes to show BROCKHAMPTON’s immense consistency. For many this is the boys at their peak, building on SATURATION’s personal, aesthetic, and technical concepts. – Cam (8/10)



Cam: 8.8/10 | Jared: 8.5/10 | Dominick: 8.3/10 | DeVán: 8/10

Pax: 7.7/10 | Jacques: 7/10 | Ben (Synth): 6.5/10

 
Community Reviews:

This album acts as a transitional piece between the early, youthful BROCKHAMPTON sound to the mature, soulful one they would come to adopt with later releases. SATURATION III still stands as one of their best to this day, doing many of those sounds better than they would on future albums. – @smells.like.sheen.spirit (8.5/10)


Five years on, the SATURATION trilogy still remains one of the most important and influential releases in modern hip hop. The third installment is the point in which BROCKHAMPTON truly refined their sound and perfected what the BROCKHAMPTON trilogy was intended to be, and is therefore the best of the three. While I would say the band surpassed the heights of the trilogy in the years since, there is no doubt this is the peak of Ameer-era BROCKHAMPTON and is a modern classic. – @bruno.7657 (8/10)

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