Gemini Rights, released on July 15, 2022, is an album released by Steve Lacy. Lacy is an American musician, formerly a guitarist, who has gained traction in the music industry as a solo artist. After rising to relevancy over the past few years, Lacy released an album titled Gemini Rights. Lacy has become one of the most popular artists among teens around the United States.

Starting with Static, it is obvious what Lacy is trying to do with the album. Lacy highlights his knack for guitar, leading the melody alongside a mix of piano. I like this song as the opener. He gives his audience a taste of what’s to follow. 

Gemini Rights has become one of my favorite Albums of the year. The meaning of the songs rather than the overall composition is what makes the album so enjoyable. Let’s start off with the first song on the album Static. Static is not one of my overall favorites but I still think it’s a good song and goes well with the album. Static has a nice melody throughout the song. This song isn’t as enjoyable because the meaning of the song doesn’t stand out to me. Putting Static at the beginning was a smart decision because it’s a great song but not the most impressive on the album.

Moving on to Helmet, this song didn’t do anything for me. I listened to the first minute or so, but then I just moved on. It didn’t excite me and made less of an impression than Static. 

Helmet is the next track on the album. It has a nice upbeat sound throughout the whole song. When I first heard the upbeat sound I thought “wow such a happy song after whatever Static was”. Wrong. not a happy song. Stave fooled me.  The meaning behind Helmet is wanting to be everything for someone but realizing that is impossible as Steve says “but loving you was a hazard, so I bought my heart a helmet”. I guess I didn’t get fooled though because it is one of the best songs on the album

Mercury has a Latinx feel and how it’s different from all the other songs in the album. The melodies were good and it was somewhat catchy. I probably wouldn’t come back to the album just for this song, but it was worth a listen. 

The next song Mercury was really hard for me to get into at first. After listening to this again because of this review, my outlook changed. I didn’t like it at the beginning because I was trying to find a meaning behind it but not every song needs a deep meaning to it. I really enjoyed the  Latinx beat he put on it. It was a good change of pace for the album. 

I love the snare drum and bass intro in Buttons. Buttons is another good song on the album with a simple bass and guitar riff that works. It’s not the most exciting song, but I would recommend Buttons as it’s one of the better songs on the album in my opinion. 

Everything about Buttons is perfect, the combination of the drums and bass help bring it together. This song has become one of my top 5’s on the album. I enjoy the sound of the song as well as the meaning. The meaning to this song is falling in love and both people not feeling the same. 

Bad Habit is one of my favorite songs from the past few months. My sister played it in the car and I couldn’t stop listening to it on my own for weeks. The guitar is great and the drums are a vital addition to the catchiness and umph of the song. This is the first song in the album where I notice Steve Lacy’s unique voice and style of singing. I would listen to Bad Habit again and again. 

I have such high praise for Bad Habit. It was the first song I heard from the album and I instantly fell in love. Not only is it well composed with a classic guitar beat but the meaning of the song is also something everyone can relate to at some point of their life. The song has a pretty easy meaning to catch up on but it’s basically learning how someone liked a person the same time they liked them. Steve and others have a bad habit of not telling people how they feel. This song will always be a staple not just for the meaning just because this song is genuinely good.  

I know 2Gether is technically a track on the album, but it is 50 seconds long so … next. 

2Gether is 54 seconds of heaven. The slow melodic sound makes these 54 seconds so enjoyable. I obviously also love it because it has a meaning of course. It’s a very easy meaning as well, he’s basically saying in this song “let’s be together forever”.

Cody Freestyle is an atmospheric song that is a nice fit on the album but it doesn’t add anything spectacular. I will mention that this is another song where the bass guitar plays an important role. Nothing really sticks out or catches my attention, so Cody Freestyle is a “meh” for me.

The same thing I said for Mercury I am going to say the same for Cody’s Freestyle. This time though I didn’t really enjoy it. It was a little too slow for me. I honestly didn’t even really know this was on the album. It just isn’t a favorite.

The introduction to Amber is more up my alley. I really like the piano and as a former piano player, I appreciate Lacy giving the piano some love. As for the rest of the song, Amber is repetitive and somewhat boring. Lacy’s voice doesn’t add anything to make the song stand out and the piano is really the only sound for the majority of the song besides the backing vocals. Once the guitar and bass come in, it is too late to revive the song. 

Amber has been one of my favorites since the album first came out. I loved the way he began the song like the beginning of a story. I enjoy the piano throughout the song. It’s a nice change from the guitar. I also enjoy the meaning of the song as well of course. Just listen to the beginning and you’ll hear the meaning. 

Sunshine definitely has all of the pieces. It is more upbeat than most of Lacy’s other songs. The guitar, bass, piano and all the instrumentals sound great together, but the featured artist on the track, while a good singer, doesn’t take the song to the next level. I also think that Lacy should have had a larger role vocally or harmonized more. Overall though, Sunshine is a well composed song that I would listen to again. 

I love Sunshine with all my heart. It is such a great song and nothing on the album compares to it. He had such great instrumental elements in this song including piano, guitar, and bass.The featured artist Fousheé adds a great melodic rhythm to the song. She helps bring out great elements to the song and she combines well with Steve’s voice. I love this song because it’s about still loving someone no matter what happened between the couple. It also helps show both perspectives in this situation.  The featured artist Fousheé adds a great melodic rhythm to the song. She helps bring out great elements to the song and she combines well with Steve’s voice.

Give You the World is another song in the album that doesn’t impress. I was looking for more from the last song on the album.. I think Give You the World is very much like the first song on the album, Static, where Lacy tries to keep the album cohesive, but in the process, doesn’t create anything inspiring or that different from what he or other artists in the same avenue of music have already produced.

The final track Give You The World deserves more praise. It’s a slow song with a 70’s feel. It was such a great way to end this album, I  think there’s no other song that should’ve ended this album. The meaning of the song is literally  in the title…. Just go listen to GEMINI RIGHTS!

Album Rating: 6/10

I think that Gemini Rights may please Steve Lacy’s fans, but as a new listener, the album was underwhelming. Songs like Bad Habit and Sunshine prove that Lacey has what it takes to make great music, but the album overall didn’t speak to me. Lacy has all the potential in the world, but he should go back to the drawing board and start working on more new, original music. With that being said, time will treat him well. We haven’t heard the last of Steve Lacy.

-Pike Temple

Album Ranking: 9/10

Gemini Rights was the first Steve Lacy album I listened to fully through. I have always loved Steve Lacy songs but I just never listened to a full album of his. For this being my first experience, I was genuinely pleased. Even though some songs I didn’t enjoy, it was still such a great album. I think there’s a song on there for everyone so like I said before listen to Gemini Rights at least just Bad Habit.

-Oriane Dancler

Ranking:

• Sunshine (feat Fousheé)

• Bad Habit 

• Buttons

• Mercury

• Give You the World

• Helmet

• Static

• Amber

• Cody’s Freestyle

• 2Gether