Even at first glimpse of the cover, it’s clear that Death Race for Love is not an encore to Juice WRLD’s debut album, Goodbye & Good Riddance. Mimicking that of a video game cover, his sophomore album not only looks the part, but sounds it, too. While his first album was an ode to a break-up, dominated by strummy riffs and intermittent pianos, Death Race for Love is refined, focusing on “in-crowd” beats while being an almost potpourri of varying sounds.
Though it still has the dark undertones of Goodbye & Good Riddance, Death Race for Love sounds closer to a finished product rather than a mixtape, which isn’t to say the loose tone of his first album was a negative thing - it wasn’t.
Maybe that’s what’s missing for me with this album: the informal quality that defined Goodbye & Good Riddance simply isn’t there. Though Juice’s voice is still distinct in itself, the crackly strain on songs like “All Girls Are the Same” and “Long Gone” are mostly absent. If you’re looking for tracks similar to that of Goodbye & Good Riddance on this new album, “Flaws and Sins,” “Empty” and “Maze” are the way to go.
Though “Fast” and “Robbery” are among the album’s most popular on the iTunes Hip-Hop charts, songs like “Feeling” and “Ring Ring (feat. Clever)” aren’t getting the notice they deserve. Despite being weirdly reminiscent of the track, “Why Did You Do That?” off the A Star Is Born soundtrack, “Feeling” is an energetic anthem with a catchy chorus, while “Ring Ring (feat. Clever)” emanates a punk-rock aura with a classic Juice spin to it.
With 22 tracks, there are definitely a few that could have been left out, one being the deafening and furious “Syphilis,” which overall clashes with the smooth, techno feel of the rest of the album.
Highly-anticipated on the rap scene, Death Race for Love almost seemed like it would be a test for Juice WRLD, being that it would be his largest project thus far. Following a disappointing response to his collaboration with Future on their late 2018 mixtape, “WRLD on Drugs,” Death Race for Love proves that Juice is versatile, capable of success from his more casual days of Goodbye & Good Riddance to that of the more streamlined present.