Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine

Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine
Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine
	Standard album cover; CDs with individual members on different covers were released via Brockhampton's website
Studio album by Brockhampton
Released	April 9, 2021
Recorded	2018–2021
Studio	Kaufman (Los Angeles); Blue Coyote (Hidden Hills & Corpus Christi); Dom McLennon's home (Los Angeles); Studios 301 (Alexandria NSW); Paramount (Hollywood); CDUB (Walnut Acres); Westlake (Los Angeles); Beverly Hills Hotel (Beverly Hills);
Genre	Alternative hip hop
Length	46:38
Label	RCA; Question Everything;
Producer	Kevin Abstract; Romil Hemnani; Johan Lenox; Jabari Manwa; Queen Sixties; Baird; Goldwash; Chuks Chiejine; Federico Vindver; Joba; WilliamVanZandt; Christian Alexander; Chad Hugo; Dom McLennon; Bearface; Nick Velez; Boylife;
Brockhampton chronology
Singles from Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine
	"Buzzcut"; Released: March 24, 2021; "Count on Me"; Released: April 2, 2021;

Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine (often abbreviated to Roadrunner and stylized in all caps) is the sixth studio album by American hip hop boy band Brockhampton. The album was released on April 9, 2021 through RCA and Question Everything, and received generally positive reviews from music critics.

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brockhampton released songs on their YouTube channel every weekend, and would sometimes livestream on Twitch and Instagram. During these streams, Brockhampton would play unreleased music, with some songs releasing shortly after the end of some streams. The series was abruptly cancelled, and in September 2020, Brockhampton producer Romil Hemnani revealed in an interview that the album's initials were RR, leaving fans to believe that the album was titled Roadrunner. The title was later confirmed, and the album's full title, Roadrunner, New Light: New Machine, was announced shortly after the release of the lead single "Buzzcut". Brockhampton recorded three different versions of Roadrunner and chose one for the final cut of the album. Kevin Abstract revealed on Twitter that Roadrunner was the first of "[two] Brockhampton albums [to be released] in 2021", later clarifying that the upcoming albums will be Brockhampton's final releases. The second album was later delayed to 2022, though on January 14, 2022, Brockhampton announced an indefinite hiatus following their Coachella performance in April 2022. That album, The Family, was announced October 27, 2022, set for a November 17 release.

After the album was released, Abstract announced via TikTok that a deluxe edition of the album was to be released soon. The Plus Pack edition of the album was released on June 4, 2021, including four new songs.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.0/10
Metacritic	79/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Clash	8/10
Consequence of Sound	B
DIY
The Independent
The Line of Best Fit
NME
Paste	8.4/10
Pitchfork	7.4/10
Rolling Stone

Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine was met with generally favorable reviews upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the release received an average score of 79, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a 7.0 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Amongst the positive reviews from critics, AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung said that the album served as a "masterful group therapy session, picking up the broken pieces of life and uplifting with cautious optimism."

In June 2021, Billboard ranked the album among the best 15 albums released by LGBTQ artists in 2021 so far.

Lyrics

Prior to the album's release, one member of Brockhampton, Joba, commented that the lyrics of Roadrunner contains themes that are very personal to the members, including the suicide of Joba's father. Kevin Abstract noted that there would be lyrics about his sexuality on the record.

Track listing

Credits adapted from official website.

*Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Buzzcut" (featuring Danny Brown)	Ian Simpson Imondre Goss Daniel Sewell Russell Boring Romil Hemnani Jabari Manwarring Jared Scharff Jeremy Ruzumna Joseph Karnes Stephen Feigenbaum Vasant Sundaresan	Video Store Jabari Manwa Queen Sixties Johan Lenox Russell "Joba" Boring	3:21
2.	"Chain On" (featuring JPEGMafia)	I. Simpson Barrington Hendricks Dominique Simpson Hemnani Isaac Hayes David Porter Gary Grice Clifford Smith Russell Jones Robert Diggs Dennis Coles Jason Hunter Corey Woods Lamont Hawkins	Video Store	3:21
3.	"Count On Me"	Rakim Mayers Manwarring Ryan Beatty I. Simpson Champion Boring Dalvin Serino Hemnani Jared Scharff Jeremy Ruzumna Joseph Karnes	Manwa Video Store Queen Sixties	2:35
4.	"Bankroll" (featuring A$AP Rocky and A$AP Ferg)	Mayers Darold Ferguson Jr. William Wood Champion Hemnani Manwarring I. Simpson Baird Acheson Isaiah Merriweather Sundaresan	Video Store Manwa Baird	3:22
5.	"The Light"	I. Simpson Boring Jonathan Nunes Hemnani Manwarring Merriweather B. Acheson Gabriel Acheson	Video Store Manwa Baird Goldwash	3:42
6.	"Windows" (featuring SoGone SoFlexy)	Serino Abhi Raju Wood Champion D. Simpson Boring I. Simpson Beatty Goss Ciarán McDonald Merriweather Hemnani Manwarring Darryl Gibbs Dominic Painter Hasani Lateef Chapman M. Jacobs Jr. Shaeem Wright	Kiko Merley Video Store Manwa	6:11
7.	"I'll Take You On" (featuring Charlie Wilson)	I. Simpson McDonald Boring Champion Charles Wilson Orlando Emerson Simon Newsome Manwarring Chuks Chiejine Hemnani Merriweather Federico Vindver B. Acheson	Manwa Chiejine Video Store Vindver	4:14
8.	"Old News" (featuring Baird)	Manwarring Champion B. Acheson Wood Boring D. Simpson Hemnani William Van Zandt Nathaniel Johnson	Baird Manwa Joba WilliamVanZandt Video Store	3:13
9.	"What's the Occasion?"	Champion Boring Hemnani I. Simpson B. Acheson Christian Alexander Manwarring G. Acheson	Video Store Baird Joba Alexander Manwa	3:45
10.	"When I Ball"	D. Simpson Jeremiah Cobra Champion Boring I. Simpson Chad Hugo B. Acheson Alex O'Connor	Hugo Baird Goldwash	3:23
11.	"Don’t Shoot Up the Party"	I. Simpson Champion Boring McDonald Hemnani Manwarring Merriweather B. Acheson G. Acheson	Joba Video Store Manwa Baird Goldwash Dom McLennon	3:07
12.	"Dear Lord"	McDonald Nick Velez Ryan Yoo	Bearface Velez boylife	2:02
13.	"The Light Pt. II"	I. Simpson Boring Hemnani B. Acheson Vindver Van Zandt Henry Robert Solomon Edelmiro Molinari	Video Store Baird Vindver WilliamVanZandt Goldwash	4:18
Total length:				46:38

Physical edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Roberto's Interlude"	Robert Ontenient Velez McDonald	Velez Bearface	0:53
15.	"Jeremiah"	I. Simpson Champion Wood Beatty Manwarring Merriweather	Manwa	2:59
16.	"Sex"	I. Simpson D. Simpson Champion Boring McDonald Wood Manwarring Hemnani Merriweather B. Acheson	Joba Manwa Video Store Baird	3:36
17.	"Pressure / Bow Wow" (featuring SSGKobe)	Wood D. Simpson Hemnani B. Acheson Manwarring I. Simpson T. Pellerin Manwarring Van Zandt	Video Store Manwa Baird McLennon Manwa Video Store WillamVanZandt	2:45

Digital Plus Pack
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Pressure / Bow Wow" (featuring SSGKobe)	Wood D. Simpson Hemnani B. Acheson Manwarring I. Simpson T. Pellerin Manwarring Van Zandt	Video Store Manwa Baird McLennon Manwa Video Store WillamVanZandt	2:44
15.	"Sex"	I. Simpson D. Simpson Champion Boring McDonald Wood Manwarring Hemnani Merriweather B. Acheson	Joba Manwa Video Store Baird	3:37
16.	"Jeremiah (Rmx)"	I. Simpson Champion Wood Beatty Manwarring Merriweather	Manwa	3:00
17.	"Jeremiah (Original)"	I. Simpson Champion Wood Beatty Manwarring Merriweather	Kiko Merley	3:03