Billy Woods’ Golliwog is a terrifying masterpiece for the A24 audience

Billy Woods has one of the highest batting averages in the game. Among his solo recordings such as Hiding places and mapsAnd his collaborative albums with Elucid as Armand Hammerthe man has several cold classics under his belt. And although no one could ever claim that Woods’ albums were light (these are not concert recordings), Strange looking doll It represents his darkest self yet.

This is not your typical horror record. Others, like the Geto Boys, Gravediggaz, and Insane Clown Posse, reach for cutting aesthetics and shock tactics. But what Billy Woods penned is more A24 than Blumhouse.

Sure enough, the first track is called “Jumpscare,” and it begins with the sound of a movie reel spinning, followed by a creepy music box and the line: “Ragdoll is playing dead. Rabid dog in the yard, car won’t start, it’s bees in your head.” It prepares you for the typical horror movie gimmicks. But in the end, it’s psychological torture. The cacophony of voices forms a floor for unknown screaming sounds, and Woods drops what sounds like a mission statement:

“English is the language of violence. I connected with it. I was given the master’s tools and I was called.”

Throughout the record, Woods turns to his producers to create tension that is not cheap, to make the listener feel uncomfortable. “Waterproof mascara” turns a woman’s sighs into a rhythmic motif. In “Pitchforks & Halos,” Kenny Seagal conjures the aural equivalent of a serial killer’s POV shot. And the DJ Haram-produced “All These Worlds are Yours” has more in common with the early industrialism of Throbbing Gristle than some of the other songs on the record, like “Golgotha,” which combines bombab drums with New Orleans funeral trumpets.

This dense, and sometimes sparse, production is coupled with plotlines that juxtapose the real-world horrors of oppression and colonialism, with scenes that seem taken directly from the film. Return it: “Trap a house fly in an upside-down pint glass and wait for it to die.” Then, Woods moves seamlessly from boasting to warning people not to turn their backs on the Gaza genocide in “Corinthians”:

If you never come back from the dead, you can’t tell me anything
$12 billion hovering over the Gaza Strip
You don’t want to know the cost of living
What is the cost of hiding behind eyelids?
When your back is turned, the secret cannibals lick their lips

The record showcases some of Woods’ masterful lyricism, balancing confrontation with philosophy, and horror with emotion. Billy Woods Strange looking doll Available on bandcamp And on most major streaming services, incl Apple music, Goz, Deezer, YouTube Musicand Spotify.