Hi everyone, Bigthony Bitetano here, the internet's busiest music nerd, and it's time for a review of this new Thundercat album, Distracted.

Here we have a new LP from singer-songwriter-bassist extraordinaire Thundercat. And from the moment this guy made a splash with his debut album on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder Records way back in 2011, it was clear this dude was special.

Not only because his sound felt so unique on the music landscape at the time — this space-age blend of jazzy synth-funk and soul — but the grooves and production behind his songs were obviously influenced heavily by the L.A. beat scene at the time, and elevated by his stellar bass playing, which just put him in another class of artist.

And over the years, he's proven not just to be a songwriter with staying power, but an artist's type of artist too, which has allowed him to stay in the limelight even when he doesn't have a brand new album on deck, just due to the number of influential names who are repeatedly reaching out to collaborate with him, be it either a Kendrick Lamar, a Mac Miller, Flying Lotus, Kamasi Washington, Justice, Gorillaz, Terrace Martin, Louis Cole, H.E.R., Kehlani — the list goes on and on and on.

Not to mention, he's been covered by Ariana Grande, embraced by influences of his like Michael McDonald. Thundercat is just that dude. Even though personally I feel like he's yet to really drum up a full-length record that is quite as good or hits as hard as his debut. But I guess for a lot of listeners, that doesn't really matter too much, or there's at least some debate. I mean, certainly Drunk has proven to be a fan favorite recently.

But still, each one of his albums regardless has at least a few very memorable highlights on them, and his style continues to stay distinct with each new music paradigm shift, too. And his obvious talent and sense of style just continue to leave me looking forward to each new album.

Now, Distracted is a record that I know he's been hounded for by fans for years, because I believe it was back in 2020 that he dropped his last record. And for me, the production quality and very memorable songwriting of some of the teaser tracks had me wondering whether or not this would be one of his best projects yet. And lo and behold, I think it is.

Not only do I feel like many of the drab, flat, boring, and subpar production choices that may have dogged previous albums are pretty much gone on this one. Because, sure, Thundercat's kind of alien falsetto vocal and the way he leans into lots of atmosphere and reverb in his beats, in his pieces, might not be for everyone.

But on this record, it all comes together into a very smooth, beautiful sound, a futuristic, psychedelic spin on all of these fusions of jazz and soul and pop, calling back to golden ages and trends these genres saw in, like, the late 70s, early 80s.

And according to the credits on this record, Thundercat sees a lot of assistance from Grammy-winning producer Greg Kurstin on this one, too, whose worked with everyone from Sia to Adele. And I think a lot of this record's sound could also be attributed to its very stacked cast of guests, which we will get into.

But off the top, Distracted is a record that, in some ways, lives up to its title, in some ways doesn't, because it does feel like a very focused deep dive into not only Thundercat's personality, and pretty much every track feels at the very least purposeful in terms of the message it's trying to get across, even if the structure is maybe a little bit lacking, be it either "ThunderWave" with Willow, or "This Thing We Call Love," a track where Channel Tres' very heavy house and funk influences come through hard, along with his lead vocals.

And while I wouldn't call this a concept album by any stretch of the imagination, clearly a lot of the tracks on this album are devoted to the feeling of love, whether it's falling in love, or making mistakes in love, sensuality, and romantic regrets. Thundercat even has A$AP Rocky out here rapping about having his heart stolen.

Then the other thematic departures from there are, as I alluded to earlier, a lot of cuts where Thundercat kinda dives into a lot of these internal, mental, and emotional struggles he's having, which I think he's very clearly attributing to some kind of neurodivergence, which much of the time crossbreeds with his eccentric, trademark sense of humor, like with "Great Americans" where he describes going insane, talking to his cats, feeling overwhelmed, fucking up, breaking things off, feeling lost, too.

He describes everything he does as being an SOS, and while it is more of a diatribe than a song. It's still an emotionally intense moment, and I think more unfiltered lyrically than maybe some songwriters are willing to get.

Then there's the closing track, where lyrically Thundercat is even more revealing and hilarious, with the final bars on the song being "Maybe I should start an OnlyFans and show some feet," which is definitely one of the greatest endings to any album I think we will hear in 2026.

Yeah, I will say the progression of this record feels maybe a little bit more like a tailspin emotionally and mentally, but, uh, the first half is pretty damn strong. And, as I've said, occasionally Thundercat does have a problem with, I think, bringing some of these tracks to the finish line, making them feel really gratifying and complete and well-developed, which might have something to do with, you know, the distraction point of this. But when this record is on, it is on.

Like with "No More Lies" featuring Tame Impala, which is a much more sensible crossover than maybe some might think on the surface. Even though these guys come from very different schools of dance and groove, it all kind of washes out perfectly in, uh, you know, the same kind of ocean of reverb, and is overall a really great statement on honesty and transparency in love.

Then there's "She Knows Too Much" featuring Mac Miller, which was a big single to this thing. And Mac is just an excellent posthumous feature on this track. Charisma is on 10. Killer bassline, too, with keys and vocal harmonies that are very, very Stevie Wonder. And this track is essentially about being on the back foot in the face of a romantic interest who you sort of see as a little scary because they're so smart, they know so much about you, or see right through you, and can't be bought off easily.

"I Did This To Myself," featuring Flying Lotus and Lil Yachty, is another highlight here for me. This handily has one of the most funny and out-there features Yachty has done in years. He rarely sounds this confident and oddball, and with this killer, heavy, crazy-ass bassline that Thundercat brings to the table, it's a great match in terms of vibe and mood. Honestly, I wish there were 5 more tracks on this record like this.

Then you have some low-key, ballad-type moments that have some inclusions from The Lemon Twigs. Yes, the friggin' Lemon Twigs are on this record, miraculously. And again, another collaboration that maybe on the surface you might not think makes too much sense, but when their vocal harmonies, like, really tie in, you hear kind of that shared appreciation for those very soft, sentimental 70s ballads. Lemon Twigs and Thundercat might come at this sound from different influences and directions, but, you know, they meet in a really agreeable midpoint. With some tasteful strings, and I think some of the best lyrics on the record, too, with Thundercat describing feelings as "like children in the car / you can't put them in the trunk, but let them drive, you won't go far." Which, like, bars!

The track "Pozole," which also features Lemon Twigs, though not, um, overtly— like, they do have a credit on it, and their vocals are clearly on the track. But this track, also a beautiful ballad, and a heart-wrenching moment too, as we hear Thundercat describe, like, the difficulties and fear around sharing himself and being his true, most authentic self, and wondering if it even matters.

And honestly, coming out of this album, I was surprised at just how much of a selling point these low-key moments in the tracklist are. Because you also have "I Wish I Didn't Waste Your Time," "Walking on the Moon," too, both of which are well composed, beautifully sung, and have interesting lyrics, too; I don't remember the low-key moments hitting quite this hard on previous Thundercat releases.

I was thinking this record might be like a funky, out-there, freaky blowout, but it's actually the saddest spots that are hitting the most. Still, again, there are some cuts where I wish there were more to the direction and to the progression — "Anakin Learns His Fate," for example, which just kind of quickly beat switches into this kind of trebly and low-key version of itself suddenly, just to fizzle out.

And again, the sudden switch on the back end of the record to a series of more skeletal, more stripped back, more sort of mental health-influenced cuts, that does feel very sudden and very tacked on in a way.

But overall, this is still a very quality, very entertaining record from Thundercat, with some of his best material on it in years, and proof that this guy, so long as he focuses and sits down and actually makes the record, puts out the record, assembles the damn thing, he's got staying power, he's got talent, he's got a unique voice, a unique style.

So yeah, in a way, again, it is a record that I think does live up to its title, and, uh, the distractions, the lack of focus occasionally does take away from its consistency and overall quality. But undoubtedly there are way more hits than misses in this tracklist, and a memorable standout sound to boot, which is why I'm feeling about a strong 7 to a light 8 on this one.

Anthony Fantano, Thundercat. Forever.