Known initially as Spooky Black, now Corbin, Corbin Smidzik has been making bleak, desolate lo-fi hip-hop that accumulated a cult following that’s only been growing since his break-out release Leaving in 2014. Now earlier this year Corbin released his latest record Crisis Kid and in my opinion – it’s debatedly his best yet.
The record opens with Cry Out In Pain, the track features a spacey almost vacant instrumental that carries a steady pace courtesy of strong guitar work as well as Corbin’s vocal delivery. Lyrics such as, “Die in our sleep, calling out for a hero / Watching us bleed, I’m counting the zeroes / Power and greed, more of attrition / Slaughter the sheep, more superstition / The dollar is weak, we’re close to ignition any day” speak to feelings of depression, hopelessness, and lacking the power, ability or means to change one’s own course are supported by the songs chorus, an echoed chant saying, “Cry out in pain / Climb out the window / Try to escape / What are we here for anyway?”
Carbon Monoxide is my personal favorite from the record. It opens with a groovy and atmospheric beat with more smooth lead guitar that’s again elevated by Corbin’s capable and forward vocals. Vocal layering, and this steady drum beat that work to progress the track simultaneously heighten lyrics from the verses, “Counting up every sin again / Guilty as charged, I’m not innocent / Drowning in the memories, sink or swim / Every time you had to see me like this” as well as the tracks chorus, “You can see all the walls I put up caving in / Slowly creep in your lungs, you’re my carcinogen / Fall asleep to your carbon monoxide again.” Corbin speaks on the difficulty of opening up and being vulnerable, holding oneself accountable – maybe even overly so – all while in what might be or is a toxic environment.
The record’s closing track Another Day In Hell genuinely sounds like it could’ve been a B-Side from one of The Weeknd’s latest releases with the synth leads that start the track off before Corbin’s lyrics join, and these balanced drums again work to move the track forward as it progresses into this almost angelic instrumental that showcases the ethereal vocals Corbin delivers as the tracks final stanzas echo, growing progressively more distant as the album concludes.
On Crisis Kid, Corbin has continued pushing himself lyrically, sonically, and personally and the result is a cohesive, fulfilling and honest expression of where Smizdik has been, is now, and where he’s going.