Hip-hop artist Aries first started his music career by posting music he made by himself on his YouTube channel back in 2014. He became well-known within his community, but his debut album WELCOME HOME, released April 18, 2019, greatly increased his outreach outside of his community. 

The artist signed with Columbia Records after the release of his debut album and then went on to create his recently released sophomore album, BELIEVE IN ME, WHO BELIEVES IN YOU, a 12-track 32 minute and 49-second long album. 

Track #1 ‒ BOUNTY HUNTER

BOUNTY HUNTER is the first track of the album and serves as a great introduction to what this album is. The track utilizes an acoustic guitar pattern and 808s to draw listeners in immediately and then introduces the listener to outlandish production with a vibrant chorus. The beat introduced in this beginning track remains constant throughout the rest of the album, making it a true insight into the album.

Track #2 ‒ FOOL’S GOLD

The second track of this album, FOOL’S GOLD, is Aries’ second most popular song according to Spotify statistics, beaten only by BAD NEWS, a track from his debut album WELCOME HOME. While having a near-identical lyrical meaning to the previous track, this track builds onto the success that was produced by his debut album while also adding a layer of production quality that demonstrates the artist’s new level of maturity.

Track #3 ‒ RIDING

RIDING carries obvious Latin flavors on it and has a very catchy chorus and vibrant guitar instrumental to it. The vibrancy of BOUNTY HUNTER continues through this track and keeps the listeners of the album still interested for the rest of the album. In my opinion, RIDING is one of the best, if not the best, track on this album. If you don’t feel like listening to the whole album or don’t feel like Aries’ music would work for you, I would suggest listening to this track to see for yourself.

Track #4 ‒ ETA

The fourth track on this album, ETA, is a pop-rap ballad that is complemented by a guitar and a bass. This song serves as one of the more lyrically meaningful songs, featuring Aries talking about someone close to him who had passed away. It would seem like it would be awkward to go from a Latin-flavored track to this track with a depressing backstory to it. However, Aries makes it work and continues the flow of the album perfectly.

Track #5 ‒ ONE PUNCH

ONE PUNCH was one of the singles released before the albums were released and had quickly become one of Aries’ most popular songs, raking in a total of 9.2 million plays on Spotify as of 2/28/2022. A feel-good summer song, it accomplishes its goal of making its listeners happy as it is one of the artist’s best singles ever created, up there with other hits such as BAD NEWS (from his debut album), FOOL’S GOLD, and CONVERSATIONS, a single that was purposely excluded from this album.

Track #6 ‒ EASY

EASY is the sixth track on the album and is the first track to not depend on a heavy background beat like the previous songs do. This song is noticeably slower and, unfortunately, more boring compared to the rest of the tracks on this album. The instrumentals and vocals are fine, but it just doesn’t feel like it belongs on this album because of the tempo.

Track #7 ‒ KIDS ON MOLLY

This single had been teased by Aries for the better part of two years and finally was released in this album. The seventh track, KIDS ON MOLLY, is the most interesting song throughout this whole album as its instrumentals make it sound more like an indie rock song rather than a hip-hop song. The artist’s vocals feel atmospheric and full of energy and, with the combination of the unique sound compared to the rest of the album, keeps the listener interested and engaged.

Track #8 ‒ HOW RUDE

HOW RUDE, being the eighth track on this album, introduces itself with a unique guitar sound and then slowly transitions itself into a matching sound to the rest of the album. Unlike EASY, the pacing of this song works and makes it an interesting listening experience. The only major complaint I have about this track is that it seems to end at about three minutes in, but it transitions into this weird out-of-place chorus with a bass instrumental. I think the song would’ve been better off without this part, or if this part of the song matched the instrumentals of the beginning part of the track better.

Track #9 ‒ DITTO

Compared to the rest of the tracks on this album, DITTO‘s beat is softer with a larger focus on the artist’s vocals. The instrumental features a drum background with other basic sounds to fill in the gaps. These vocals are filled with passion and give off the happy-feeling vibes that Aries intended. The combination of both of these things creates a soothing atmosphere that lets this song grow on you as you listen to it.

Track #10 ‒ DESPERADO

DESPERADO begins with an electric guitar and then eventually builds up to an explosion of a chorus from Aries. This presents the listener with a euphoric feeling that features drums and vocals that fuse perfectly. This song is most comparable to KIDS ON MOLLY with the unique, multi-layered sound that it provides on this album. Both this track and KIDS ON MOLLY successfully display the artist’s ability to open his sound to a wider audience.

Track #11‒ OUTDATED

The eleventh track from this album, OUTDATED, begins with lyrics sampled from Surrender by Cheap Trick, showing some of the art that Aries took inspiration from many years ago. There’s nothing that interesting about this track. This song is another one of the slower tracks on the album and has its place as a transition between DESPERADO and the next and final track WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT.

TRACK #12 ‒ WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT

The final track of Aries’ sophomore album, WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT, utilizes a catchy trap rhythm to truly finish off this album. The combination of the beat and the vocals leave a good impression on the listener as the album concludes. Although the song is good, it doesn’t feel like the final track of an album. I think this displays a flaw in the album as it doesn’t have a true ending to it.

I think that this album is pretty decent for background music or casual listening. The instrumental stays the same for the majority of the album, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing and displays that the artist is working within his comfort zone. The lyrics are difficult to understand on some of the tracks, which don’t help when the songs are meant to be meaningful. 

Overall rating: 7/10