Jean Dawson continues to strive as an underrated artist and as one of the greatest genre-benders of the current generation. Ever since his debut mixtape “Bad Sports” in 2019, Dawson showcased a distinct sound with slow indie R&B tracks and interesting production choices. A year later, he dropped his critically-acclaimed album “Pixel Bath”, an album that vocalized his versatility as an artist. From digital-sounding songs such as “Shiner” to social justice anthems such as “Policia”, “Pixel Bath” provided fans of all genres with a new track to add to their playlists.

“Jean Dawson is a great artist and I don’t think he has nearly enough followers as he should, and I just love the guitars in his songs and his singing. My favorite songs from him are ‘MENTHOL*’ and ‘Triple Double,’” magnet junior Kahlo Flores said. 

With “CHAOS NOW*”, Dawson displays heavy rock influences and opens up the album with the earworm titled “THREE HEADS*”. This song starts with the loud and repetitive chorus of “One-headed, Two-headed, Three-headed monster” and as the track progresses it takes various creative routes that keep the listener engaged. The track entitled “GLORY*” stays memorable as Dawson reflects on people around him seeing him as crazy, a theme he touches on throughout the album. On top of that, the chorus of “GLORY*” sounds like a beautiful mixture of loud guitars and great vocal harmonies. 

TDE rapper Isaiah Rashad features on the fourth track, “KIDS EAT PILLS*”. His nasal voice fits the tone of the song perfectly, as he raps about his struggles with drug addiction and how it takes a toll on his mental state, describing it as living a nightmare. At this point, Dawson combines compelling production with exceptional songwriting, but with “POSITIVE ONE NEGATIVE ONE*” he falters slightly. The track feels empty at specific points and suffers from moments of heavy bass that last longer than they should. Regardless, his experimental choices still deserve credit for their attempts.  

Immediately after this track, Dawson introduces his magnum opus, “BAD FRUIT*”, a song with ethereal harmonies and beautifully composed instrumentation. With his minimal lyrics of feeling left out and comparing himself to a moon constantly running from the sunrise, Dawson serenades listeners with this song that sounds dreamlike. After the bridge dies down and the harmonies come to a close, rap protégé Earl Sweatshirt chimes in and laments about his struggles with mental health and drug abuse. Fans of Sweatshirt know about the battles he faces with depression and anxiety, and that he canceled tour dates due to his inner turmoil. To hear him openly talk about how it “took a long time for him to feel this”, left his fans relieved yet emotional about his growth over the years. “BAD FRUIT*” presents as a powerful track and emotional rollercoaster that deserves all the praise it receives.

“I played [Earl Sweatshirt] the album and he was saying some really wonderful things and for me, it was a really really big moment… And I was like I have this song if you really want to do it and I don’t want to ask you because I know who you were from the outside but now I know who you are from the inside… and he was like ‘No I’ll do it.’ … That was one of the moments where God had some tricks,” Dawson said.

Dawson continues a streak of brilliance with tracks such as “SCREW FACE*” and “BLACK MICHAEL JACKSON*”, songs that briefly discuss drug usage with stellar guitar strums. Although “SICK OF IT*” lasts for roughly two minutes, Dawson’s energy on the track draws the listener to constantly come back. The last track, “PIRATE RADIO,*” brings an orchestral ending to the profound sophomore album, with soothing violins playing in the background as he sings about drowning with no hands to bring him back to the surface.

In an interview with BET, Dawson revealed he wanted to show listeners that humans live chaotic lives. Humans naturally struggle with mixtures of happiness and sadness, and he intended to release “CHAOS NOW*” as an album for the chaos of every listener. Although “Pixel Bath” remains the better project, his latest album showcases immense growth in songwriting and worldbuilding. 

The Chant’s Rating: A