Kanye turns unbearable pain into haunted, stark electro-pop on this daring album

Kanye turns unbearable pain into haunted, stark electro-pop on this daring album, embracing electronic chill and ‘80s New Wave to express his suffering and isolation. His Auto-Tuned voice aches over sharp, icy piano and harsh Roland TR-808 drumbeats on “Love Lockdown” and turns aggressively wrathful as a buzzsaw synth propels “See You in My Nightmares.” Ye moves into stirring, art-pop melodrama on “RoboCop,” but his gut-wrenching vulnerability is clearest on the minimalist electro-pop of “Coldest Winter”—a frostbitten, Tears for Fears-sampling goodbye to his late mother.