Pianos then support the main riff, with Bruner hitting the line “drowning in a PAIN” in a clean falsetto (god damn that’s dope). By this point, you should also DEFINITELY be bobbing your head to the track. And I can’t find my heart.” The almost comical lyrics speak on a seemingly literal display of someone losing their heart, yet the symbolism isn’t hard to grasp once you listen further. It’s groovy, vibey, and rather eyebrow-raising.īruner then comes in with the vocals, a very modest and fitting melody with lyrics that set the scene immediately: “Nobody move, there’s blood on the floor. I’ve showed this song to a lot of people, and most of the time I garner quite the reaction once this part kicks in. The song breaks into its main refrain, backed by soulful bass lines (honestly sounds like multiple bass parts), that truly throws most listeners off guard. “Them Changes” is quick to display Thundercat’s vibrant style, supported by a drum sample from the Isley Brother’s track “Footsteps in the Dark”, perhaps more commonly known as the sample used on Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day”. His eccentric persona, and the use of a six-string bass (uh… what?) has given him quite the presence in and around the modern-funk scene, and his influences from soul and jazz are evident in his playing. His work as a bassist is arguably his epicenter, however he also sings, writes and produces.
Stephen Lee Bruner, better known by his stage name Thundercat, has been quietly revitalizing a lost era of funk and/or “acid jazz” with his music, which has spanned across three studio albums, numerous features, and dozens of collabs, including Kendrick Lamar’s critically acclaimed 2015 album, To Pimp a Butterfly, for which he won a Grammy Award. And whether it’s due to the lyrics, the musical style, the release date, or all of the above, one song in particular that really had this effect on me was the 2017 track, “Them Changes”.
Every now and then, you come across a song that simply makes you go, “What the HELL is this?”… as in, totally caught off guard, “what year is this from?”, “how did I never hear this song before?”… yeah, you get the gist.
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