We Buy Diabetic Test Strips
| We Buy Diabetic Test Strips | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 29, 2023 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 53:12 | |||
| Label | Fat Possum | |||
| Producer |
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| Armand Hammer chronology | ||||
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| Singles from We Buy Diabetic Test Strips | ||||
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We Buy Diabetic Test Strips is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Armand Hammer. It was released on September 29, 2023, through Fat Possum. The album features guest appearances by JPEGMafia, Moor Mother, El-P, Pierce Jordan of Soul Glo, Pink Siifu, Junglepussy, Curly Castro and Cavalier. It is the first Armand Hammer album to not be released under the Backwoodz Studioz label.
The album was preceded with three singles: "Trauma Mic" featuring Pink Siifu, released on August 2, "Woke Up and Asked Siri How I'm Gonna Die" featuring JPEGMafia, released on August 29, and “The Gods Must Be Crazy”, featuring El-P, released three days before the album’s release.
Background and promotion
On July 3, 2023, Billy Woods revealed that their sixth studio album was almost done, saying that they took a "pretty different" approach and that Elucid was still working on the record. Collaborator and producer Kenny Segal thought that the album was "ridiculous" and looking to "knock Maps off the album-of-the-year list".[1] About two weeks later, mysterious postcards and flyers with phone numbers that lead to album and pre-order details were spotted.[2] Fans would also receive postcards delivered to them with a tracklist and phone number.[3] The duo announced the album on August 2. A session with Jazz musician Shabaka Hutchings, producer/keyboardist Child Actor, engineer Willie Green and Elucid helped set up the foundation of the album.[4] [5] The latter described the recording process as an assembly of talented rappers meeting for the first time in the studio to jam "to pre-recorded beats before splintering off into new directions". The opportunity to watch them drift off into their own "sonic worlds" was a clear "magical moment" for him.[6]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 87/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Mojo |   [8] |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10[9] |
| Uncut | 8/10[10] |
We Buy Diabetic Test Strips received a score of 87 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on ten critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[7] Mojo stated that "ultimately, it's Woods and Elucid who provide the intense, erudite, funny through-line",[8] while Uncut opined that "the music reflects this stark, witty chronicle of precarious modern living with a queasy tableau of churning beats, one minute harsh and industrial, the next lush and dreamy".[10] Pitchfork's Matthew Ismael Ruiz called it a "success—it can feel like being tugged by dozens of different hands yet still being pulled forward" as well as "moody, unsettling, sharply observed album balancing moments of self-reflection with vivid snapshots of societal dysfunction".[9]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Landlines" | JPEGMafia | 2:58 | |
| 2. | "Woke Up and Asked Siri How I'm Gonna Die" (featuring JPEGMafia) |
| JPEGMafia | 2:41 |
| 3. | "The Flexible Unreliability of Time & Memory" |
| Child Actor | 3:21 |
| 4. | "When It Doesn't Start with a Kiss" |
|
| 3:23 |
| 5. | "I Keep a Mirror in My Pocket" (featuring Cavalier) |
| Preservation | 3:43 |
| 6. | "Trauma Mic" (featuring Pink Siifu) |
| DJ Haram | 2:34 |
| 7. | "Niggardly (Blocked Call)" |
| August Fanon | 4:01 |
| 8. | "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (featuring El-P) |
| El-P | 3:00 |
| 9. | "Y'all Can't Stand Right Here" (featuring Junglepussy and Money Nicca) |
|
| 3:05 |
| 10. | "Total Recall" |
| Kenny Segal | 4:21 |
| 11. | "Empire BLVD" (featuring Junglepussy and Curly Castro) |
| Green | 4:31 |
| 12. | "Don't Lose Your Job" (featuring Pink Siifu and Moor Mother) |
|
| 4:25 |
| 13. | "Supermooned" (featuring DJ Haram) |
|
| 2:54 |
| 14. | "Switchboard" |
| Sebb Bash | 4:02 |
| 15. | "The Key Is Under the Mat" (featuring JPEGMafia) |
| JPEGMafia | 4:13 |
| Total length: | 53:12 | |||
Charts
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Album Downloads (OCC)[11] | 32 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[12] | 44 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[13] | 5 |
References
- ^ Hudson, Alex (July 3, 2023). "Armand Hammer's New Album Is Nearly Done, Will "Knock 'Maps' Off the Album-of-the-Year List"". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ Monroe, Jazz (July 25, 2023). "Armand Hammer Announce New Album We Buy Diabetic Test Strips Via Teasers". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ Brodsky, Rachel (July 24, 2023). "Armand Hammer Tease New Album We Buy Diabetic Test Strips Feat. Soul Glo's Pierce Jordan, Pink Siifu, Moor Mother, More". Stereogum. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ Lejarde, Arielle Lana (August 2, 2023). "Armand Hammer announce new album with lead single "Trauma Mic"". The Fader. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ Moore, Marcus J. (September 26, 2023). "Armand Hammer Keeps a Foot in the Past, but Its Eyes on the Future". The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ^ Vito, Jo (August 2, 2023). "Armand Hammer Announce New Album We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, 2023-2024 Tour Dates". Consequence. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- ^ a b "We Buy Diabetic Test Strips by Armand Hammer Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- ^ a b "Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips". Mojo. November 2023. p. 93.
- ^ a b Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (October 3, 2023). "Armand Hammer: We Buy Diabetic Test Strips Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ^ a b "Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips". Uncut. November 2023. p. 25.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2023.