In regard to the narratives and overall tone, Chlorine & Salt Water is a dark chapter in producer/emcee Kogan Dumb’s artistic canon. The songs are intense and moody, featuring a swirling aural aesthetic, existing at the intersection of hip-hop, ambient and vaporwave. Kogan revisits his usual motifs — yams, bandannas on bottles, etc. — but the album turns powerful when he rhymes things such as, “Let me black out on this bourbon / I’ll see you in the morning.” He is speaking to the trappings of using substances in the face of rough times, which serves as an important statement on an album that paints a gritty portrait of turmoil and grief. —Syd Bishop
This article appears in July 3, 2019.