Museum Music by Edward Skeletrix Album Review

Released January 1st, 2025

It may currently be the end of August as I am writing this, but I wanted to go through the albums that have been released this year in preparation for a best of the year list. So I will be going through the entire year of music, listening and reviewing to see what the world has had to offer.

First off, an album that came out on New Year's Day is Museum Music by Edward Skeletrix. Now, I have never even heard of Mr. Skeletrix before. No idea what his music sounds like or anything like that, so I am going into this completely blind.

Track 1: Congratulations

The opening track is more of an intro. It starts with applause before Edward says a few lines here and there with a very deep and nice sounding voice. Behind him are angelic choir vocals that sound so incredibly beautiful. As simple and rather basic as this track is, I absolutely love it. The music is gorgeous and the choir sounds truly angelic and beautifully sweet behind his deep, raspy voice and some occasional distortion as he talks. A great contrast for a simple track that can't really have much more said about it.

Track 2: Typical Rap Song 11

And now for something completely different.

The first real song starts with a super glitchy, almost hyperpop sounding melody. I am a fan of it, even if it sounds overly compressed and too quiet to my ears. Maybe that's more of a preference thing to me. Then the drums come in along with INCREDIBLY produced and autotuned vocals. The drums are whatever. Pretty basic and flat to me with not a whole lot of character or personality. The vocals are the best part of the beat, which as I said it is overly produced so that's not really a good sign. There are moments that seem like he is trying to copy or impersonate rappers I'm more of a fan of. Pop Smoke with the deep voice, Dave with some of the deliveries and flows, and really just almost attempting to sound unoriginal. Now, considering the name of the song, that could entirely be intentional and the point. But I really don't think I would come back to listen to this song.

Track 3: Life's So Funny ft. oOo

What a name for an artist. Another song that starts off sounding very hyperpop. The melody sample with the 8-bit sounding synths, the insanely overproduced vocals, and just a chill vibe. This honestly does sound quite nice, as hyperpop is something I tend to enjoy from time to time, and adding a chiptune aspect to it really makes it feel and sound nostalgic. Although the "intro" I guess is incredibly long, over half the song. Then we get a very messy and sudden beat switch that I wasn't a big fan of. Beat switches can work very well, but whenever it is so sudden or stops the momentum it feels like it was 2 songs just put together as 1. The song just turns into Edward rapping over distorted and chopped up, manipulated chiptune stuff in the background with his vocals way too loud and taking up all of the attention. The first half of the song is nice and peaceful while the second half is much less enjoyable.

Track 4: Blurry Picture (Psychosis)

Maybe this is a harsh thing to say, but this sounds like complete filler. It has very nice sounding synths acting as the melody and some decent drums that are much more animated and active then the previous songs, but the only "vocals" are super far in the background and just sound like having fun in the booth compared to anything else. It's just a instrumental beat with the occasional lyrics thrown in so quiet you can barely make out what is being said. Not a huge fan of this one, and it's starting to make me think that the intro is the high point.

Track 5: Plastic Body

This song is the first one to feel like a REAL song. Before this, it sounded like 4 different intros playing back to back. The song starts off with nice sounding vocals and pretty good production and flows over top of atmospheric sounds. Some nice pianos and synths and reversed effects. A minute in we get more production and some seriously nice sounding moments in the beat and vocals. I'm honestly a fan of the sound so far and think that this has a chance for the best track of the album. It sounds great and has so many elements coming together really nicely. Although for a 4 and a half minute song, the momentum struggles a bit. It's just rapping over top of atmosphere for nearly 2 minutes. The drums don't come in until about 1:55 or so, and it sounds incredible. I personally love the production of the drums and 808s while the vocals transition into a more natural sound. It's industrial, rage, trap, and hyperpop all coming together into a great mix of sounds and styles that come together very well. Something intense but not overwhelming. Aggressive but not screaming. It has a great style to it. And not to mention the outro that I am quite a big fan of. A very distorted soundscape that gives me 808 and Heartbreak vibes.

Track 6: Slave N*ggas Still Shop At Neimans

The actual song title is not censored, yet I feel weird typing that word out.

The song has more of the off kilter, almost perfectly distorted and messy synths that sound so nice. Like an old video game console that is barely holding onto life. The vocals are a bit too produced for the messy sounds underneath, creating a contrast that I don't think works as well. It's too clean over top of chaos, and it doesn't mesh well. Although the elements on their own sound great. But at 1:39, the momentum honestly struggles. It is a nice collection of sounds that when brought together, don't work as well.

Track 7: Typical Rap Song 12

Much like the previous typical rap song, this sounds incredibly generic and copycat. The beat honestly sounds nicer then the previous one, and I'm a fan of the melody. The drums are possibly worse, but they have more variety so it gets points for me. The vocals are mixed so incredibly loud that the beat is drowned out, which isn't something that should really be done. Although when the beat slows down at the end I like it, and the beat switch feels a lot more natural and connected to the previous one than other songs. I even loved the super distorted bass and new drums. The vocals work much better for the beat and it sounds like dark, scary chiptune which works very well. I like the second beat much more, but overall the song is an improvement from others that came before it.

Track 8: God Made You A Monster

Something I have noticed is that Edward Skeletrix loves to do very short, sub 2 or 2.30 minute songs. They tend to be basic and not my favorite in terms of production or momentum. Then, he'll drop a song that is over 4 or 4:30 and it sounds MUCH better. The beat, the melody, the production on this one is honestly perfect to me. I love the vibe, and even the beat switch sounds great. The transition is very well done and is a great way to keep the momentum moving. I will say that I am getting a little tired of just how many songs have had beat switches so far, so it doesn't hold the same amount of weight as artists who do it much more sparingly. I don't want to assume or make judgements, but I would describe the production of many of the tracks, this one especially, as very ADHD. Not knowing where to go or what to do next. Just throwing everything at the wall to see what sounds the best and then growing tired of it too quickly so changing it up. I mean this song kind of has 2 or 3 different beat switches. They all sound good, but it grows tiring.

Track 9: Drug Dealer Injects His Fentanyl (Psychosis)

This song has the most over the top production and beat so far. The loudest melody and 808s while the drums sound like the same preset with slightly different rhythms for the snare. Honestly, this was the song that made me realize the drums just sound the same on nearly every song that has them. It makes me think there is some unoriginality and that the artist is cranking these out in drug fuelled sessions where he just has fun. Is that harsh? Maybe. It clearly sounds like Skeletrix is having fun and enjoying making these, but for my personal taste it's not something I enjoy overly much. It has nice moments, but an entire album of this feels like a real grind. It's a lot of the same production tricks just repeated over and over again.

Track 10: Skeletrix Island

A much more peaceful and contemplative start. Some beautiful piano and 808 with, possibly, the best mixed and produced vocals so far. Sure, to me it sounds like he is continuing to try and copy Pop Smoke, but it works in some instance. The singing with the autotune honestly sounds really nice, mixed in with beautiful music. It gives me memories of the first track, and they pair together nicely with a whole lot of just...stuff in between. This really feels like it could or should be an outro, but it really is a nice oasis in this part of the album. It sounds great and beautifully elegant. Angelic in parts with different, nice sounding percussion. When there are no vocals it truly sounds like a moment to reflect and feel at peace. It's lovely.

Track 11: Drug Story

I am somebody who enjoys whiplash in my music, often shuffling my massive playlist to get literally any and every kind of style. The whiplash from this one is somewhat extreme, yet that's more because this has an actual beat and drums. This is honestly my favorite song I've heard in a while. The drums are beautiful, the chords and melody together sound great, and the vocals are subdued and perfect to glide over the beat. The water drop is a bit much for me, but it adds nice little drops and moments. Honestly, this song is great, even if it is more of an instrumental with some vocals here and there. A whole lot of samples that make up the word count, yet the singing sounds great. Hoenstly, it's giving big JPEGMAFIA vibes. This song is a total vibe that really does sound pretty amazing by itself. I hope the album is able to continue the momentum and keep up the pace.

Track 12: Killing Over Likes

Back to a bit more of a basic sound with synths and drums in more of a trap style, yet still with the hyperpop or chiptune influences in the melody. The sounds once again come together in a bit of a messy way, and the vocals are probably the weak point. It sounds like a demon possessed Atari or old Nintendo console, which works and doesn't work in some ways. It really isn't the worst thing ever, but just has a bit of a dissonance and lack of cohesion to it. Not just within the song itself, but from the previous tracks. Overall inoffensive but just sounds like more filler.

Track 13: Making Art For Money

Even more generic and over the top production that truly gives the rage elements of this album a spotlight. It's constant noise and elements with little to no time to breathe or think. Just insanity and chaos. I am really not a huge fan of it, as this one truly just sounds like taking whatever samples he has and putting them together. It doesn't sound planned out or like there was care. Just a mess of sound with possibly the worst vocals of the album so far. Really not a great sound in any way, at least to me.

Track 14: OnlyFan

This song REALLY sounds like JPEGMAFIA to me. The samples and drums, the female voice singing, and the off kilter, unnatural sounds. It doesn't sound bad, just very weird to me. He seems to take a whole lot of inspiration from other rappers and producers, but it's in ways that don't really add to it. It just sounds like imitations and copies over taking ideas from it. Just...eh. This really isn't bad, just not my favorite due to hearing better things from other people in similar styles.

Track 15: Yo Bro Will Kill You For A Band

The last track on the album comes in at a mere 59 seconds. And the worst part? I love this song. The production is some of the best of the album and the elements come together so incredibly well. It truly is a nice form of the chaotic hyperpop and chiptune elements of the album, but coming together very well. It's another just rapping over the melody and no drums, which seems to be where he shines the best. This sounds beautiful and is a great way to end the album while also tying back into the intro incredibly well.

Overall Thoughts

This album is a lot. A lot of ideas, a lot of genres, a lot of sounds, a lot of variety. Now, in some cases that can be really good. In others, it can be really bad. This album has some seriously high highs. Congratulations, Plastic Body, Skeletrix Island, and Drug Story are all good to seriously great. And YBWKYFAB (Track 15 but I didn't want to write all that out) is another amazing addition. But the probelm? That's 5 out of the 15 tracks that I feel that about. All of the other songs either feel like filler or off cuts. B sides if you will. Just made for fun or while high and just added on. If this was just a 5 track EP with the songs I enjoyed the most, I would genuinely say it's one of the best albums of the year. And I'm being serious.

I think for me, the biggest problem has more to do with me and how much music I listen to. Edward Skeletrix shows that he takes a lot of inspiration from the likes of JPEGMAFIA, Pop Smoke, old Kanye West, and the entire genres of hyperpop and rage. As great and important as it is to have inspirations, I think it is an entirely different thing to just copy or steal from them. There were points in this that if I wasn't making a review of this and just had a playlist on, I would think that it was completely different artists performing. That's not really a great sign if you wish to stick out.

But overall, the album was what it was. 15 songs clocking in at just over 33 minutes is probably a bit too short, but it is what it is. I will definitely listen to some of the songs again and will wait patiently for more Skeletrix projects, but I won't go into them with the highest of expectations after this.

Overall Album Score: 6.5/10