Album Review: Labrinth, ‘Ends and Begins’

For his third studio album, Labrinth delves further into the grandiose electro-apocalyptic abyss of Imagination & the Misfit Kid and his Euphoria scores to explore the breadth of the genesis and demise of all things and all people: love. Clocking in at just under half an hour, Ends & Begins eschews the overlong ramblings of many streaming-era albums in favor of a project that finds its anchor in its brevity. The songs on Ends & Begins move lightyears at a time; Labrinth tumbles through an intergalactic funnel that takes him on a freewheeling tour of different planets of musical influences. From the layered ascending harmonies of gospel to the airy echoes and whispers of dream-pop, Labrinth synthesizes myriad musical stylings into one punchy and succinct record.

While no featured artists are credited in the titles of these songs, two superstars lend their expressive and charismatic voices to Labrinth’s latest record. Emmy-winning Euphoria star Zendaya appears on Ends & Begins as both a guest vocalist (“The Feels”) and a co-writer (“Everything”). On album opener “The Feels,” Labrinth and Zendaya duet for a third time over clangorous synths and endearingly tragic lyrical imagery. “I got touched by God and it fucked me up / Like an electrical current coursin' through my veins / Lightning came and hit me again,” the pair croon. The smooth soulfulness of Zendaya’s tone presents a welcome complement to the innate roughness of Labrinth’s busy production, and her ability to make their chemistry feel familiar yet distinct from her and Labrinth’s Euphoria duets (“All for Us” and “I’m Tired”) is genuinely impressive. As for the other superstar guest artist, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Billie Eilish appears on the long-awaited “Never Felt So Alone.” First teased in the second season of Euphoria, “Never Felt So Alone” undoubtedly belongs to the sonic universe of Ends & Begins. The beauty of the track, in addition to Billie’s new open-throated vocal approach, lies in Labrinth’s penchant for the whimsy of bedroom pop.

Across Ends & Begins, Labrinth balances the starry-eyed hope of burgeoning love and the heart-shattering wasteland that is the annihilation of that love. Lead single “Kill For Your Love” course-corrects from its heavy-handed verses with a chorus that encapsulates the delusions of grandeur that often accompany lovestruck mania. There’s also “A Turn of Events,” a masterful interlude that blends sweet chimes, pounding drums, and ominous video game-esque synths to soundtrack the full breadth of the multitudes of love. Perhaps the most effective presentation of whimsy on Ends & Begins is Labrinth’s approach to wordless vocalizations. Taking pages from a cappella barbershop quartets and doo-wop alike, Labrinth uses syllable singing to mimic the melodies of both analog and digital instrumentation, injecting every chord of the album with unmistakable humanity. At the end of “Covering,” he transforms into an electric guitar, riding the song’s immaculate pacing into a climax that finds him surrendering to the power of love. Primarily influenced by his marriage and wife, Ends & Begins takes the “us against the world” romance trope and launches it into the stratosphere with a commitment to pairing the melodrama of its production with harrowing lines like “Upset, lovesick / The one I wanna spend my life and my drugs with.”

At times, Labrinth’s new record suffers from trite lyrics and predictable melodies. “Only Way Is Up” and “Power Couple,” in particular, are quite forgettable with their overdone metaphors and plodding melodies. Nonetheless, by the time the album reaches its closing and title track, Labrinth once again turns to the sacred to tie the whole affair together. “Like a brand-new start, baby / Oh, reincarnate me / Down from Heaven,” he sings to close out the record. Conceptually, Ends & Begins is Labrinth’s strongest studio album, but less impressive highs than his previous projects and the inclusion of multiple duds on an already brief album strip the set of some of its magic.

Key Tracks: “The Feels” | “Kill For Your Love” | “Covering” | “Ends & Begins”

Score: 73