Key Largo, Florida emcee Darby O’Trill dropping his 8th studio LP in preparation for Hallowicked. A close collaborator of Chapter 17/Psychopathic Records in-house producer Devereaux, their debut on wax Piecemeal received critical acclaim during the COVID-19 pandemic & signed Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & fulfilled it over 4 years ago with Gully, which is a modern day wicked shit classic. Amputate was a solid prelude to The Tomb, the latter was even better. Darby’s official C17 debut Creek became his best since Gully as did GARDeN, coming off WIL(low) to take us to GATOR LaKE.
“The gator lake visitor center” produced by none other than Devereaux cooks up this murky trap instrumental to kick things off creeping through the fog with the spirits of the swamp accompanying him whereas “Mask made from a lampshade” talks about this voice in his head getting louder over a cold trap beat from Shaggytheairhead. “I played baseball when I was a jit” goes for a trap metal vibe instrumentally talking about being the nuisance he is leading into “Irregular Puzzle Pieces” featuring Shaggytheairhead throwing it back to that 10 Bandz freshness.
As for “Doctor my dick has teeth & chewed a hole in my leg”, we have Darby over a Mobb-like beat throughout the 3rd single talking about nobody being safe from this toxic waste just before “Jezt n death” featuring Klokwerk E talks about heckles & macabre considering they’re laughing at their victims bleeding out to their deaths. “Flannel full of bullet holes” continues from there advising that it’s good to speak the unspoken sometimes while “Ranidaphobia” describes about the fear of frogs.
“Bologna flavored bong water” hits the midway point of GATOR LaKE with the 4th & final single talking about living like a scrub until the end & having no regrets while “I like your hands, may I have them?” professes that he’s fed up with this endless loneliness he’s been feeling. The lead single “Shitstorm” featuring Ouija Macc cautions not to tell them they’ll be fine when they know they won’t while the 2nd single “The trialz & tribulationz ov apeboy” talking about splitting skulls of those who fuck around.
The trap metal influences make their way back around for “Making Out with the Floor Again” asking whether or not one would be pissed off or cherish him more if anyone found him like that but after “Stop smiling you look stupid” airs his grievances towards someone he knows who he wishes the absolute worst upon over a shimmery instrumental, “Smell ya later loser!” runs it back with Devereaux talking about being near death despite looking zombified.
“Meet me at GATOR LaKE” winds down the last few moments of the album turning up the trap metal elements to find blood soaked all over his clothes once again & considering his blade to be his closest friend while the final song “The Proto cat bluez” preceding “The interview” out skit finishes GATOR LaKE at it’s core retaining the trap metal influences for a 3 minute outro talking about how the sun doesn’t shine even when the day of our demise comes around.
Anyone who’s already followed the CReEK through the GARDeN & past the WIL(low) will eventually find themselves at GATOR LaKE, which has been said to be the finest Darby O’Trill has ever sounded in his entire career & I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment as someone who’s been paying attention to him since 2020. The production almost entirely handled by Devereaux strengthens Darby’s distinct mix of trap metal & the wicked shit cautioning those who dares to enter the waters won’t ever leave.
Score: 9/10