Thundercat Voyages Through Grief and Beauty on ‘Distraction’

Stephen Bruner feels your pain. Or at least he’s feeling his own, which may look much like yours. Distracted is the first LP in six years by the virtuoso bassist and R&B visionary, and it finds him wallowing in perhaps the healthiest way: as creative practice. He’s staring down loss while making the struggle as beautiful, funny, spacey, and vibe-y as he can.

Distracted remains unmistakably Thundercat: Seventies jazz fusion meets Eighties quiet storm — the sound golden-era hip-hop reanimated via sampling — reverse-engineered with real instruments and electronics. Bruner also comes from the tradition of P-Funk, and fellow L.A. prodigy Frank Zappa, mixing sophisticated musicianship with dopey comedy and dark emotions. He’s a man who spikes swoony R&B heart shares with confessions like “I’m just kind of ass.”  

What’s new here is pop producer Greg Kurstin replacing Bruner’s usual wingman, Flying Lotus (who helicopters in for the squelchy funk strut “I Did This to Myself”). Kurstin makes things smoother, shinier, and less weird than Fly Lo might — not necessarily a bad thing. Similarly, the caliber of Thundercat’s guest list feels upscaled. Alongside a posthumous cameo from his friend Mac Miller are A$AP Rocky, Lil Yachty, Kevin Parker, Willow Smith, and Channel Tres. 

The MCs land some nice lines (“Karma’s a revolver, we livin’ like the Beatles” laments A$AP on “Funny Friends”), the Tame Impala jam is fine, and the Willow duet is sweet, with Bruner doing his best version of Michael McDonald (a yacht rock OG he’s worked with more than once). But the album’s deepest moments are Thundercat’s own. “Walking On The Moon” is pure outer space love vibes: “My Barbarella/You’re my Uhura/ I’m Your Starship Trooper,” Bruner purrs in full geek mode, invoking Jane Fonda, Star Trek and The Yes Album. “Pozole” weighs pros and cons of emotional disclosure with Beach Boys harmonies, while “ADD Through the Roof,” by way of illustration, becomes a rapidfire jazz fusion fever dream. “Great Americans” finds the singer in a downward spiral, pleading “Dear Lord/Send help/I’m talking to my cat/meow.” (Maybe have his people call Mitski’s people?) Distracted ends with Bruner fretting over money and pondering options. “Maybe I should start an OnlyFans and show some feet,” he asks. Um, do whatcha gotta, dude, and take care. But keep that music flowing.