Neverlove is Buck 65’s much touted divorce album. I talked briefly about Neverlove on my last post where I talked about the other release Buck release on the same day titled Laundromat Boogie. Compared to Laundromat Boogie there is a lot of emotion displayed on this album and it takes a few listens to take it all in. It was not too long ago, at one of the 20 Odd Years release parties, that I remember Buck talking fondly of his then wife and how great everything was. Anyone who has been through a serious break up would have experienced the initial feeling of anger, some sense of being free and over it often followed by moments of intense loneliness and melancholy before final acceptance. Whether intentional or not it seems this album captures a lot of that emotion and feels somewhat neurotic.

Before the official release Buck shared the album with an introduction to each of the songs. He mentioned needing a lot of help from friends to make this album happen. As such on some of the tracks it feels to me like Buck is a guest and the singer of the chorus is the main focus, Heart of Stone in particular sounds like a guest rapper on a pop song. A lot of the charm in Bucks earlier DIY work was the way it felt very personal and as if you were listening to a friend. The lyrics, samples and intermissions all felt like they reflected who Buck 65 is.

The album starts well, the first track Gates Of Hell is produced by old Anticon cohorts Alias and DJ Mayonnaise. Having heard a few songs from the album that featured female vocalist on the chorus this songs was a surprise, instead of a seductive siren we have Buck screaming “FIRE!”. The second track sounds like the type of music and lyrics we have come accustom to from Buck’s recent work. Back name drops a bunch of characters and their traits over a french chorus.

The third song That’s The Way Love Dies is where the album loses me a little. A lot of the production on this album is by Marten Tromm and it’s not bad but it sounds too clean and over produced compared to what I like to hear from Buck. It’s not until later in the album where the songs produced by Dean Nelson are more dark and melancholy that I start to really enjoy listening again.

Lyrically there is a lot going on in this album. It’s like a therapeutic psychoanalysis that is at times difficult to listen to. While it’s not musically presented in a form that feels as personal  as earlier releases it is definitely some of the most personal and heartfelt lyrics I have heard from Buck.