‘See You Next Year 2’ is the sophomore album for Complex’s Pigeons and Planes, and they couldn’t have followed up the first in a better fashion. SYNY 2 was recorded wholly at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La Studio; a sanctum that is notoriously traveled to by the most talented artists across the industry. The project also taps the likes of established industry members including Deb Never and Monte Booker, as well as artists who are actively breaking through to the masses like Love Spells, ICECOLDBISHOP, and so many more.

The album itself is lilted with numerous genres, and that in itself feels like perfect commentary on what’s to come in the next five years of music. We’re nearing a renaissance of music as a whole with recent conversations by artists like James Blake and Tyler the Creator, and in a similar vein, P&P is delivering their take on the matter.

Tracks like “Dope Sick” give us an airy sound that transmutes genres and leaves us on another ethereal plane, whereas other singles like “Big Bank” rattle us through multiple different sounds all within the confines of a two minutes and forty two second long track. There are a lot of standout moments, and one I want to mention is the transition from “How To Cry” into “Dope Sick.” Their placement feels all too intentional even if the tracks weren’t made in the same session (due to how the singles talk about experiencing emotions), and I’m sure that there are countless other easter eggs that are beyond our comprehension at first listen.

When asked about their goals for the project, Pigeons & Planes said that,

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“Our main goal making this album was to bring some of our favorite artists together in an environment where they could create without boundaries or expectations. We had high hopes for the music that would be made and the collaborations that could take place at Shangri-La, but what happened over those 8 days was even better than we could have imagined.”

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The lore from this album feels like organic artistic expression in it’s purest form. Whether it was stories of songs being completed on the day a pair of artists met, or the making of a song that was worked through while fifteen people watched over, it feels like the Summer Camp we all wish we were invited to.

The project brought together artists that I never imagined collaborating on a track, and the fruits of that were not lost on me during my initial listens. Pigeons and Planes has managed to stay relevant throughout over a decade of its existence, and their forward thinking creativity on ‘See You Next Year 2’ leaves them set to follow that same path.

My personal favorites on the album are two of the pre-release singles, “Dope Sick” and “How To Cry,” as well as Junior Varsity’s “Gap Tooth” that found its voice over a four year period. This album is simply for the dreamers, and I promise you won’t regret listening to it for yourself. 

Sheesh also interviewed AG Club and Love Spells about their contributions to the project, which can be found in our suggested reads below.