Haasan Barclay’s debut album Heaven Is Your Last Dream is truly something that KBX hasn’t heard before and we mean that in the best way. Hardcore music fans with their fingertips on the pulse of the Boston music scene may’ve already heard Barclay’s name from his work producing for artists like Michael Christmas and OG Swaggerdick. Haasan’s dextrous ability to go from producing beats to playing guitar to singing to laying down bass lines showcases his incredible talent and affinity for music. Heaven Is Your Last Dream is his first creative opus that shows us who Haasan is, not just as a producer, but as an individual artist.
HIYLD transcends all musical genres and goes from bringing us the cerebral trippiness of artists like Thundercat to giving us a dose of some modern rap and hip hop. The album starts off with “Rains”, a heavy, rock sounding track that quickly transforms into a transcendental experience, complete with futuristic synths, gritty bass and Haasan’s spaced out vocals layered on top. “Creatures Like Us” has a hint of Kanye sounding melancholy camouflaged by some auto tune and intricately interwoven bass and guitar lines. We get a taste of Haasan’s roots in Hip Hop and Rap with tracks like “There Will Be Blood” featuring the lyrical genius of The Samo D and “Yoshimitsu” featuring Michael Christmas. Both tracks border on the line of Trap and Trip Hop- there’re crisp hi hats but some groovy and trippy synths as well that blur the lines between genres. Songs like “Get You, Right?” featuring Sarah Martin satisfy our cravings for some R&B and Neo-Soul.
One thing that’s for sure is that Heaven Is Your Last Dream is an album that must be experienced in its entirety. Haasan said in an interview about his debut project that “This is an album that you need to experience in full…every song is connected…”. While the sound is totally Haasan’s, the disparateness in some of the musical elements on the different tracks means that if you miss one song, you’re probably missing something you’ve never heard before.
Take a listen to Heaven Is Your Last Dream below to get the Haasan Barclay experience. This album is definitely gonna be just right for the Spring and Summer, when festival season kicks back up. Keep up to date with Haasan Barclay via his Facebook and Twitter.