Rapper-Producer Harto Falión recently released a spiritual successor to his 2021 release, “Academy,” teaming up with longtime collaborator Eera for “Extra Curriculum.” Other notable producers include fellow Surf Gang members (an underground rap music affiliation) Evilgiane & Harrison, Taylor Morgan and KOHHL. Falión also produced two tracks under his Trip Dixon moniker for this project.

Known for his elaborate loops, deafening 808s and playful melodies, Eera shines again as an executive producer here, providing a solid backdrop for each guest producer to work with.

Falión often uses a laid-back cadence, trailing off at the end of each sentence in a sort of wistful manner, while exploring themes of unhealthy coping mechanisms, self-doubt and perseverance. Much of this aligns with Calvinist themes, something Falión alludes to heavily in this and his other projects. Falión often struggles to maintain his strength to go on in the face of a potentially pointless existence. In his 2021 song “Age of the Individual,” one of his best, he alludes to this. The line “Sometimes I really wonder/ How I keep my head up,” implies that Falión is questioning his own motivations. This lyric reminds me of the Calvinist tenant regarding human will. In Calvinism, humans are inherently predetermined to sin. Falión describes his inescapable vices including drugs and alcohol, and wonders how he can ever be forgiven.

Another interesting quirk of Falión is his use of “we” instead of “I” in his music. At times, this is just in reference to his friend group. However, other uses of “we” are more enigmatic, like on the song “Made by Human.” Falión writes, “At the end we always weep.” This can refer to any number of events in the span of a human life that end in tears. We all hate endings, be it to a show, or to a life. We can’t help but weep.

Falión positions himself as an outsider in many ways. His lively social media presence reveals nothing about his personal life or intentions. Many of his posts are blurry, chopped and screwed with single worded captions. I think the use of “we” in this case refers to his relationship to his music, and the fear that it could end by any number of circumstances.

A recent music trend, in multiple genres, is that production tends to overshadow vocals. This album certainly suffers from this chasm. While it’s great to see how this phenomenon allow producers like F1LTHY to become superstars, the quality of the production dominates Falión vocals. This noticeable difference is likely due to the fact that Falión isn’t doing much different here in comparison to his previous records. “Academy” was new and fresh when it came out two years ago, but I’m hoping to see some progression with his next project.

Jackson Walker can be reached at [email protected].