I have to admit, I’m jumping the gun a bit on this week’s review. For some context, this week’s artist is somebody I have been looking forward to for a few months now. If you have TikTok, you probably have heard of this guy. If you haven’t heard of him you probably have heard him. His name is Sueco.

Sueco has garnered massive success on the platform TikTok. He first had some moderate success promoting his alternative punk pop songs before making a post on Aug. 5. That one video has garnered 11.4 million likes, 72.6 million views and has gathered Sueco 6.9 million followers as of March 4. The video features audio for “Paralyzed,” one of the singles from Sueco’s debut album, “It Was Fun While It Lasted.”

The Aug 5. TikTok video wasn’t the social media star’s first online sensation. In 2019 Sueco (then under the name Sueco The Child) released a video that contained audio from his single, “fast,” which also went viral. Since then over 200,000 videos on TikTok contain audio excerpts of “fast” or “Paralyzed.” 

While also under the name Sueco The Child, he was asked to produce a song that featured Wiz Khalifa, Ty Dolla $ign and Lil Yachty for the Aug. 2020 film, “Sonic The Hedgehog,” which featured Jim Carrey. 

So all that to say that Sueco is not some no-name artist straight off the streets of Los Angeles. That’s what his debut album so highly anticipated. “It Was Fun While It Lasted” released March 4, the same day I’m writing this. I usually like to digest an album by listening to it multiple times and taking notes on each and every track. But I figured I’d try something new and give y’all my first impressions. 

I have to say that I was a little disappointed in portions of the album. “Paralyzed,” “Drunk Dial” and “Loser” had all been previously released as singles leading up to the album’s release so I already knew they were good. They have also been featured on many TikTok videos, especially “Loser,” which is a self loathing pop punk anthem. The song fills me with visions of bands like Blink-182, The Offspring and MxPx who built their reputation on self loathing and outcast commentary on pop culture.

Most of the other songs were somewhat of a disappointment. The issue I find with Sueco is the issue I find with many “newer” artists who attempt to fuse genres, they just don’t quite know how to do it yet. Each song features 

different fusions from genres across the spectrum. If you listen to “It Was Fun While It Lasted” you will hear elements of modern pop, punk rock, rap, alternative and even an acoustic track. 

Much like last week’s feature, Paris Texas, we see that these early albums can be hard for fusions to succeed. There needs to be time for the artist’s growth. It’s difficult for any artist to hit it out of the park on their first go around. All that being said, there are some highlights in the album and there is an element to Sueco’s music that can’t be ignored: He can sing. 

I was worried that autotune would play a huge factor in Sueco’s music. The first two tracks “Today” and “Paralyzed” had started to confirm my fear. Then I heard the intro to “It’s Going Good!” I heard Sueco’s voice over a piano for the first 20 seconds of the song and I was pleasantly surprised. Not only does Sueco have a great raspy voice for the punk side of his music but he has an ability to hit higher notes than I expected with that raspy voice. It is featured so well on the acoustic track, “Hate You Too.” 

The issue comes in the music itself. Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be a coherent flow in the music. There are times the genres switch much too quickly with no context or reasoning within the song. Songs like “SOS” and “PRIMADONA” are the two best examples. “SOS” even features former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. I’m not too sure in what capacity because the techo based drum line seems to have a hip-hop rhythm more than a straightforward rock beat. But, maybe Barker has more technical talent than I give him credit for. 

Overall, I’d say the album was a bit overhyped and a bit lackluster. I can’t deny that Sueco is here to stay in some capacity but I hope he takes the time to define his craft. If he does, he could become a great modern musician. At only 25 years old, his work as a producer and now as a recording artist can’t be denied or ignored. The album has already garnered over 570,000 downloads in its first day, according to Sueco’s social media pages. I’m sure that number will quickly pass one million, especially if Sueco can garner some radio play. 

Jack Jordan is a reporter for The Moultrie Observer.