Im listening to it now and on first impressions, its all over the place. Half the songs sound like they were recorded in a different time period coz J sounds like his teeth a falling out (specifically Insomnia) on half of them. Theres some high concept production on some tracks with super technical beats then just basic “beats”. It sounds like they worked with some experienced producers and some bog standard beat makers and it isnt working for me. Feels like a forgotten freshness or something.

The vocal mixes differ across a lot of the tracks and they have producer tags on a lot of the tracks too. 

As far as a collection of songs, its not too bad but its not a joker card. The production quality varies far too much, vocal performances are uneven, the vocal mixing is all over the place and that overarching panning sound on Wretched (the sound layed over the music and vocals that goes from left to right throughout the whole song) is super distracting too.

Why couldnt they just work with one producer? Why couldnt J re-record the verses he recorded a year ago, now that he can work his mouth properly)? Why did they put that awful Heart & Soul song on this album? Why couldnt one person mix all the tracks?

This is a Violent J album. Real shame as shaggy has been holding down the ICP name for a long time now but I wouldnt even say he takes a back seat here… Hes not even in the vehicle. He took the bus.

I think theyre gonna lose a lot of people with this one. Again, its not a joker card and the “loyalty” angle they were going for, seems to be an afterthought. Its some ICP songs, recorded over the span of a couple of years, with music from producers and beat makers.

Ill stop ranting now and go back under my rock.

darklotusfaygo said
yeah you pretty much nailed it to a T. this is by far the shittiest icp cd I ever heard. Panick attack is pretty dope.

I would like to know who the producers were on this album.  

I refuse to believe theyre fully proud of this. Most of the tracks are “produced” by Devereaux and Shaggy The Airhead (as you can hear their tags on pretty much every other track). But both of these guys are really just Beat Makers and far from “Producers” so I can only guess theyve got someone else (or various people) producing with these beats in the studio. Its a mess, musically. And im only saying this as a joker card. As a modern “rap” album its probably about right but its not even nearly a joker card. It has no “theme”. Like they mention the Yum Yum Flower on the intro then you have to wait to 11 more tracks before its brought up again.

Clearly im upset.

Hawley said
On first listen, love the tracks:

Clown Drippin’

Insomnia 

The Drunk and The Addict

Carnival of Lights

Really wish he would have just re-recorded Insomnia. It was obviously recorded a while ago

Tryna patiently wait til my hardcopy comes, but knowing psychopathic that’s gonna end up being a lost cause

Based off Wretched alone, I can’t imagine it being anywhere near as bad as missing link

But the critiques mentioned perfectly align with what I was expecting & are prob dead on. A mixed bag of songs with no relation conceptually/musically was exactly what I was expecting

Hopefully it’s more enjoyable than some are making it sound & it grows on everyone over time. Considering all J went through during the creation, I’m ok with it if J rly gets sober & puts his all into making the 6th a wild, cohesive ride that pulls it all together

Psyops is coming

I actually thought that Shaggy appeared on this album more than usual!

Ohhh and I know what Queens is about topic wise. I meant what the hell is this on an album for, it’s absolutely awful.

Overall I like most of it so far, some of the flows are crazy and good to hear again. Some songs will have to grow on me. 

I like it so far! :) 

I’ll try Queens again, only got half way through haha! Very mixed reviews on this card so far. 

I’m loving it though… Most songs are great. Although there’s 4 songs I absolutely hate. I will try again though for sure :)

Old Mr Blasphemous said
Yall got me worried. 

I don’t usually read reviews before listening but it just kinda happened. This may be the first Joker’s Card that I won’t buy a physical copy of, ever. 

I’m definitely worried enough to listen before I buy it.

Mayday is the only group that I can be certain of the music quality when purchasing. ICP, Twiztid, every other band make me nervous.  

Nah man. Fuck me and my opinion, you might love it. You got this one guy saying it’s the best ICP album in the last 15 years. One of us has got to be closer to being right, and it might be him. 

Id take a wild guess and say, if you love Ouija then you’ll love this. But I might be wrong. This might be exactly what some people are looking for from a Jokers Card. Not me though.