I‘ll be honest here: I’m not really equipped to “review” NIGHTLIGHT, a.k.a. the debut album from Milwaukee artist Be3e. It’s a hyper-processed, hyperactive, and just plain hyper maximalist hip-hop hyperpop fever dream. It’s a 40-minute glitched-out electro acid trip that approximates the sensation of watching six different anime at 6x speed all at once. It’s inspired by Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and Polly Pocket toys. It is, to put it mildly, a lot.
And yet, despite my general inexperience with the genre(s), I find myself drawn to and fascinated by Be3e’s NIGHTLIGHT. It’s big and it’s bold and it kind of sounds like the future. Here’s one of the record’s more subdued tracks, “STAR,” the video for which features the Brady Street Walgreens. OF COURSE.
So what’s the story behind NIGHTLIGHT? Behind Be3e herself? She writes:
Be3e’s debut album, NIGHTLIGHT, is both her introducing herself to you as an artist, and her very own reintroduction to herself. Inspired by Tommy February, pocketed Yugi-oh cards and Polly Pockets, deeply informed by the collaborative efforts present, and dibble-dabbling across niche sub-genres within dance and rap music, the album serves to set the tone for who Be3e is as a musician. Outward and animated, bouncy and mosh-y the album came from Be3e’s move back to Milwaukee after living in Chicago, and traces the bittersweet feelings and healings that come from a familiar trip back to your childhood home. Be3e brings you into her life, and her return to the child within, using the dance floor as a place for both adult and child to inhabit one same body.
Do I like NIGHTLIGHT? I think so! Can I recommend NIGHTLIGHT? It’s certainly not for everyone, but again, I think so! Am I eager to check out Be3e live this Saturday at Cactus Club? Absolutely.
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