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New York's WHATMORE aim to impress on their self-titled debut album [Album Review]

  • October 17, 2025
  • Deaundre Dixon
Detail's of EARMILK New York's WHATMORE aim to impress on their self-titled debut album [Album Review]
Artist Name:
WHATMORE
Album Name:
WHATMORE
Release Type:
Album
Release Date:
October 17, 2025
Record Label:
Alta Music Group
Label Location:
Review Author:
Deaundre Dixon
Review Date:
October 17, 2025
EM Review Rating:
7.0
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Multi-genre New York supergroup WHATMORE has finally released their self-titled debut album via Alta Music Group after a powder keg of hype and anticipation stemming from multiple singles, sold-out pop-ups, music videos, and interviews.

The album feels like a chaotic mixture of triumph, introspection, youthful camaraderie, and a touch of longing heartache that comes together to make a surprisingly cohesive and succinct album experience.

Despite this being the band’s first album, the sonic mastery displayed on it, helmed by production from in-house producer/engineer Elijah Judah, leaves the future of the group looking exceedingly promising, even if, at times, the group seems to drown in their influences a bit.

Opening the album is the subdued and melancholic “never let go.” Backed by lush acoustic guitar chords, Cisco Swank is provided the perfect stage to deliver the album’s first verse on a vulnerable and introspective note, discussing varying themes ranging from his desire to succeed musically to his need to be given direction and a path to follow.

“But I ain’t too proud of the past… What I need is direction. Can you show me the path?” Swank proposes in a somber tone before the song transitions into a performance from Yoshi T, back by an added layer of electric guitar to establish more low end,  in which he expresses all of his desires as wishes, wishing for things to fall in place, to have things written in stone, and to have “a little bit more” to name a few.

The track ends with pitched-up vocalizations that feel in the vein of BROCKHAMPTON or Frank Ocean as the group’s primary singer, Jackson August, begins the song’s outro: “I can feel this coming to an end / all the times that we have spent / make-believe that we was always gon’ be friends / all the words left unsaid.”

The pitched-up vocals then come back in to finish the outro with mumble crooning that feels reminiscent of late 2010s hip hop or SATURATION-era BROCKHAMPTON, concluding the track with the line “I wanna be where you are.” A fitting end to a beautifully sad and reflective introductory track.

Whether intentional or not, the group manages to maintain a healthy balance between songs that sound vulnerable, sad, and introspective, and those that sound triumphant, bombastic, and braggadocious, never letting either overstay their welcome too much. For example, immediately after the desolation of “never let go,” the album seamlessly transitions into the head-banging “chicken shop date,” which is about as boastful as it gets.

The bombast of the rock-influenced intro, in tandem with the hard-hitting 808s and chaotic synth backdrop that make up the bulk of the rest of the song, are fitting conduits for bars like "lately, wallet heavy, saggin’ my denim f**k up my posture” by Yoshi or “I feel like Jesus, I walk on water, I’m floating” by Swank.

However, what’s really impressive is the band’s ability to weave thoughtful and contemplative lyricism into melodies and production that seem to feel sonically antithetical. Two such songs that accomplish this perfectly are the single “go!” and the third track “emptyyy”. On the surface, “go!” feels anthemic; something that would smash in a live setting, but lyrically, the band pulls no punches, showing little hesitation to delve into their personal lives and emotional struggles.

One of the most pointed examples of this is Sebastiano’s gut-wrenching first verse, which opens up with “broke up with my girl last night and I told her ‘I ain’t in love with you’ / shit, I’m in love with you,” a perfect lyrical juxtaposition to reflect the aforementioned sonic juxtaposition. Immediately following this bar, Sebastiano goes on to discuss sleeping through the chaos of club nights and his mother asking him to make sure he’s home for Christmas.

Sentiments like these do so much to add to the reality of the boys’ situation, going on a nationwide tour with Laundry Day starting next week, while trying to maintain their personal lives with friends and family back home. 

Some major highlights from the album include “bombay (keep it alive),” “white subie,” and the album’s closer, “hit it.” “bombay” includes a slow, droning drum pattern with a thumping kick to boot, paralleled with a complementary bass line and church organ, which, when combined, provide an apt habitat for Yoshi’s painful chorus delivery in which he laments his inability to make things go his way, leading him to “[mix his] pride with the Bombay.”

The addition of subtle piano keys in the verses makes the sentiments of the song feel quite depressing, generating almost a sense of pity for the young men drowning their sorrows in alcohol. Sebastiano’s grandiose declarations about making it big near the end of his verse almost feel empty, like the delusions of someone too drunk to think rationally, especially when set next to the brutal reality of Yoshi’s chorus. Swank’s verse, however, loses the false bravado, opting instead to tell it like it is. Much of the instrumentation is stripped away as Swank is left to delve into feelings of inadequacy and a looming inability to trust himself over sparse production consisting of only the drum pattern and bass line.

The track “white subie,” near the end of the album, is one of the more outwardly emotional cuts. Helmed by Jackson August on an extremely catchy chorus and backed by dreamy indie rock-influenced production, the band dives into themes of longing, loneliness, and the emotional complications of modern relationships.

August ponders on the chorus: “Do you think of me when it hurts just to breathe? / When you’re stuck to the tree? / When a friend’s all you need?”

These feelings are reflected and expanded upon in the verses by both Yoshi and Swank, whose performances feel emotionally raw and personally devastating. “And I’m trying not to call, but is you sayin’ my name?” Yoshi mumbles in an auto-tune-laced performance that feels fitting despite the acoustic instrumentation.

Swank goes on to explain feelings of discontent felt when the subject of his verse is near or far, saying that things are “different” when they’re close up, and that despite trying to hide these feelings, he ultimately always ends up needing them. The song ends with August’s chorus, a beautiful ending to a beautifully despondent song. 

The final song, “hit it” is a triumphant victory lap set over an elegant and soaring soul sample with performances from Yoshi, Sebastiano, and Swank. The group uses the album’s closer to celebrate all that it took to bring it into reality, unabashedly talking their s**t and putting their aspirations down on wax, with Swank outlining a desire to buy his mom a house and Sebastiano saying that he’s “on [his] way to bringing Bentleys on the street.” The song is a fitting close to the album. It feels like a group of friends giving themselves a pat on the back after a job well done.

Despite the highs of the album and the musical mastery exemplified throughout, the single most glaring shortcoming, whether intentional or not, is the group’s tendency to wear their influences on their sleeve.

Many songs do seem to have a unique DNA composed of a multitude of influences, but others seem to more blatantly take after one or two specific artists, and as a whole, the shadow of BROCKHAMPTON especially seems to loom over the group’s sound. The two most obvious examples of flagrant musical influence, however, appear on “jackie chan” and “slow down.”

The former sounds like something that the guys in Paris Texas might make, while the latter has production that feels like it was taken out of Tyler, the Creator’s playbook or something that would have fit nicely within BROCKHAMPTON’s SATURATION era, and while Sebastiano’s melodic performance on the chorus of “slow down” is a welcome change of pace, it does little to distinguish the song from the aforementioned artists.

Additionally, several vocal effects and performances from some of the songs feel derivative of Kevin Abstract specifically.

Nonetheless, WHATMORE is a very enjoyable debut album experience full of chaotic, meteoric highs and raw, unfiltered lows from a group who pride themselves on being the conduits of their real-life human experiences, whose potential is endless and are sure to further their musical legacy as they continue to mature and come into their own.

We here at EARMILK are absolutely ecstatic for whatever WHATMORE has in store next.

Connect with WHATMORE: Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

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  • alternative hip hop
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Deaundre Dixon

Deaundre Dixon a writer from Phoenix, Arizona with a passion for music and film. In his free time, he enjoys reading comics and thinking about stories.

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