Coolzey has been making music for a while now, releasing his debut album, The Honey, back in 2010. The Iowa/Cali musician has spread out and explored a lot of different sounds and collaborators over the years, but now it’s time to bring everything together under one roof on his fourth full-length, Fight the American Celebrity Machine.

In years past, when pressing play on a Coolzey project, it was almost like playing the slots. You might be getting some nerdcore, lounge, alt rock/punk, or new wave/synth pop. I’m not saying there was anything wrong with this – because Coolzey could pull all of these different styles off, there was a certain excitement to not knowing which side of him you were going to get with each release. However, on Fight the American Celebrity Machine, we finally get the fully synthesized Coolzey project that we’ve been waiting for. You don’t have to guess which style you’re going to get, because you’re getting them all in one package, often combining them in interesting ways. For the endeavor, Coolzey is doing the bulk of beatmaking and keys playing himself, but he does get some help from Fresh Kils, Wise/Weapon, and Sureburt on the production side of things. To reinforce what a hybrid album this is, you also get appearances from The Dead Milkman’s Joe Jack Talcum as well as fellow Public School Records emcee Bru Lei on the same album. The really key collaborator though is vocalist Mary Bozaan, whose three appearances across the album add just the right balance to Coolzey’s voice and take the music where it needs to go. Coolzey is just as concerned about identity in his lyrics as he is in his music, and he works through this need to define ourselves and how we fit in and get along with other people on songs like “Heteronormative Cisgender Lover,” “Three Cheers For Everyone,” and “I Don’t Want To Fly.” More than anything, though, this album is about Coolzey’s journey to figure himself out, and as a result it’s very personal, while also remaining fun and exciting to listen to.

It’s always exciting to see artists put things together and reach that next level, and that’s what Coolzey has done with Fight the American Celebrity Machine. It’s an exciting album that creates a hybrid style of music that brings a lot of different influences together, from Wu Tang to Sinatra. It’s also an album that manages to address very personal and relevant social issues, while also remaining a lot of fun to listen to as well. That’s no easy feat.