On this 2020 project, Bay Area artist
G-Eazy switches roles from slick rapper to indie alternative singer/songwriter. As the title suggests,
Everything's Strange Here indeed. Crafted during the COVID-19 pandemic, the set is
G-Eazy's self-professed chance at artistic evolution and personal growth during quarantine and isolation. Although the change in vocal delivery is somewhat jarring (his singing is passable and genuine enough), his aesthetic remains on brand, balancing lurid tales of hedonism with reflective moments that forgo hip-hop beats in favor of woozy atmospherics. In addition to his own moody originals, he fleshes out
Everything's Strange Here with a stoned cover of
the Korgis' "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime," a haunted take on
David Bowie's "Lazarus," and a fitting sample of
Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" on "All the Things You're Searching For" with
Kossisko and
Ashley Benson, driving home the non-rap point by referencing his other musical influences. While not as pop-friendly as his hit duets with
Bebe Rexha or
Halsey, nor as bombastic as 2017's bombastic "No Limit,"
Everything's Strange Here is an unexpected gem in his catalog, rewarding for its drastic sonic shift and break from his usual rap braggadocio.