Album Review: Kanye West - The Life Of Pablo

The young man who once bombarded us with drums is now the master who uses them like a chef uses seasoning. The anger of Yeezus has been replaced by wisdom, by self-knowledge. The young man who delivered us three-and-a-half minute instrumentals of looped samples now treats each song as a journey that twists and turns, even as we try to chart our path.

Feedback is all lights-out sexual energy, a peak behind the curtain; Famous is several songs in one, a year composed of contrasting seasons; and Ultra Light Beams is literally perfect. Real Friends, though, might be the album's highlight. It bangs enough for any dancefloor, and performs the difficult trick of embracing and rejecting the life fame has brought Kanye.

Ask a sceptic whether they're a Yeezy fan and they'll likely refer you to Kanye's trainwreck of a personality or to any number of public missteps. (The suggestion of Bill Cosby's innocence being the most recent, and one of the most odious.) This album is the best answer to that suggestion we could have hoped for. The Life Of Pablo lets us love Kanye the greatest way we can. To paraphrase our host's own amazing, self-deprecating punchline, with this even the sceptics among us can learn to love Kanye like Kanye loves Kanye. A truly great album.