Craig Xen: Broken Kids Club EP

With Broken Kids Club EP, Members Only member Craig Xen presents a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Often associated with the deceased XXXTENTACION, Xen demonstrates his talent on the EP, however fails to make a significant impact on listeners.

The album begins with an ‘intro’, in which rapper XXXTENTACION is telling Craig that he can “act crazy” now that Xen is present. This intro leads excellently into the first track, ‘Run It Back’, once again featuring XXXTENTACION. Adopting Members Only’s trademark distorted bass style, Xen and X trade hard-hitting bars, presenting a fantastic opening track to the project. However, Xen clearly relies on the memorable performance of X on the track, a theme which will continue throughout the EP.

Indeed, often throughout the EP Xen fails to establish himself as a prominent voice, often relying on features which overshadow him. This is particularly clear on the closer ‘STAIN’, an excellent track which effortlessly combines verses from fellow Members Only member Ski Mask the Slump God and Florida rapper Smokepurpp. Xen once again fails to stand out, being outshined by Ski and Smokepurpp. It is clear that Xen has not created his own trademark style, as seen throughout the album. Xen fails to establish a signature sound throughout, constantly adapting styles, which though experimental, fails to create a significant impact amongst listeners. 

Despite this, the project is consistent in both the instrumentals and lyricism. ‘Cry Baby, Cell 17’ is an emotional, acoustic track, in which Xen alludes to the death of close friend and collaborater XXXTENTACION, as well as Lil Peep, with Xen singing that he’s “missin’ [his] friends”. ‘Forever’ is a relaxed, rock influenced track, in which Xen seemingly ponders on a failed relationship alongside Flyboy Tarantino. ‘Too Many’ continues this theme of emotional vulnerability, presenting an almost careless emotional ballad, over a simple and laid-back instrumental. Throughout ‘Broken Kids Club’ a main theme is mental health and Xen’s own experiences with such challenges. The EP deals with these issues in a touching, and personal manner, providing an introspective look into Xen’s life. 

However, though Xen’s latest project provides several standout moments, individual songs are often monotonous particularly due to the dull, occasionally lifeless vocals. Aside from the hard-hitting tracks ‘Run It Back’ and ‘Stain’, Xen’s vocals are extraordinarily lifeless and soaked in auto-tune, so that it takes away from the emotional lyrics he raps, as the audience does not get a true indication of his own personal feelings. This contributes to several tracks becoming somewhat boring, such as ‘Forever’ in which Xen and Flyboy Tarantino present dull and uninspired vocals. On top of this, the project is far too short at only 15 minutes, with Xen failing to establish an impact on audience members due to the incredibly short runtime of the project.

In summary, despite several promising moments ‘Broken Kids Club’ is a disappointing project. Though it often presents touching lyrics and genre-shifting instrumentals, often excellently executed throughout, Xen’s vocals are the projects biggest weak point, often making the EP seem dull and uninspired. This, combined with the short run time, makes ‘Broken Kids Club’ an unmemorable and lacklustre EP from the Members-Only member.

5.4/10

By Jacob Matthews