After a three year break from music, ScHoolboy Q released his new album CrasH Talk April 26. Q scrapped three albums before feeling ready to release his most recent. After his critically acclaimed previous two albums, Blank Face LP and Oxymoron, it would’ve been tough to follow them up with a worthy addition to his discography.

Although Q’s patience and self-critique is evident in his new album, it does not live up to the standards of his previous two projects.

CrasH Talk has a few very bright spots. Songs like “Tales” and “CrasH” highlight Q’s impactful writing ability. Q lets the listener into his life in these songs, a skill that he has mastered on previous albums.

The album also displays some of the aggressive, grungy style that Q became popular with. “Numb Numb Juice” and “5200” are fast paced and feature some of Q’s most exciting lyrics on the album. “Floating” successfully shows Q’s aggressiveness despite a disappointing verse from 21 Savage. “Water” does the same, but features an electrifying verse from Lil Baby.

Unfortunately, these are only six songs out of the 14 track album.

The rest of the album consists of uninspired, pop-heavy, filler tracks that don’t reflect the talent of ScHoolboy Q. The maddeningly dull hook delivered by Travis Scott on “CHopstix” is perhaps the best example of this.

Q is able to deliver some good lines but they are overpowered by the boring beat and repetitive chorus. “Lies” is guilty of the same fault, with the features of YG and Ty Dolla $ign not adding anything beneficial to the mundane pop song.

Other than the aforementioned bright spots scattered throughout, CrasH Talk is an obvious step down from ScHoolboy Q’s previous work. The most appropriate word to describe most of the project is boring. Overall, a disappointing release by one of the most talented artists of this generation.