Retro Nicotine - Retro & Sleep Strike Back!
Retro Nicotine is a 20 year-old alternative rap artist currently based in the underground scene in Miami, Florida. Although he sports a younger age, his history and experience in the music industry is not new. Growing up in Decatur, Illinois, Retro Nicotine first took to his music scene by managing his friends and fellow musicians in his scene. Filming music videos, working merchandise booths, making cover art and handling marketing and distribution all before he would release his own music as Retro Nicotine. In January 2020 he began releasing his music, some of which we would cover previously. Today, we’re taking a look at how Retro Nicotine can follow up his recent uprising with his newest collaborative EP Retro & Sleep Strike Back!
The EP begins with “Blue” which is an absolutely killer introduction to an EP. This song combines the mellow sounds of modern bedroom pop with the lyrics and attitude found in alternative emo-rap. The lyrics blend together in such a melancholic way that combined with the bass and simple drum beat this song is almost a lazy river that takes you first hand through the slow, deep trenches of a depressive funk. The song breaks near the halfway point with some keys and at this point in the first song I had to remind myself the creator of this song was only 20 years old. I was left feeling some heavy Titantic Sinclair vibes with this tune, but as an introduction it seems this song was very carefully chosen - and what a good choice it was.
“Drunk” describes the moment of weakness when your feelings of missing someone are heavily exaggerated from being drunk. He talks about his bouts with alcoholism and how he used to call her when he was this drunk but now he cannot because their relationship is over. It is a short but sweet song with some well-utilized autotune to put all things together. Many of the songs on this EP seem to revolve around traumatic events experienced and Retro Nicotine holds no breaks in terms of getting straight into business and refuses to sugar coat the dirty details involved in being depressed. In “Stolen Macbook” we see another side of the coin, an anger expressed to those who do not understand him with a very nihilistic attitude. It is clear this EP covers a lot of ranges of emotions felt since the last release from Retro Nicotine, and all of his features add so much to the songs. Each track flows well with each other while still sounding unique enough to feel that the whole collection of songs is really a unit. I’m a big fan of the beat used for the track “Little Rock” as it’s a nice juxtaposition from the guitar used in the beginning of the EP.
This was definitely a nice listen from Retro Nicotine and Sleep333. From Beginning to end this EP takes you on a trip to the depths of depression while still jamming to beats you can nod your head to. The lyrics are relatable to anyone who has had their heart broken or felt like they have messed up big time in life and want to start over. It is a feeling anyone can understand and especially with the pains of growing up this reminds me a lot of something I would listen to in that coming of age.
Retro Nicotine began taking off after he dropped “P.T.S.D.” and he has since risen from unknown to underground hero. We were definitely impressed with All of My Idols are Dead, the previous EP we covered from Retro Nicotine, and to say that we are impressed with Retro & Sleep Strike Back! would be an understatement - it is truly magnificent. We look forward to Retro Nicotine’s next work, and hope to continue to see this artist grow with time; despite his youth, he is well ahead of the game and certainly has a bright future. You can find Retro & Sleep Strike Back! on all popular streaming services 4/30/2021 and you can find Retro Nicotine on Instagram! Check Sleep333 on Instagram as well!
