The album opens with the titular track produced by LordQuest. The song begins with various samples before the hook picks up. The drums rest with each hook and kick in again on the last line. It's a great opener with aggression, reflection and a good sing-along quality to the chorus. The beat also has some winding hi hats that emphasize the kick more. Surprisingly a good touch.
The second song "Givin' Up" produced by Vago recounts Merkules reminiscing on his come up and current success through a confident couple of verses and a nice vocal sample. I like the beat too it's got some nice drums variation in it. To me it's one of the more quotable songs with lines like "I used to want to be like them and now they want to be me." or "Now I'm playing fifty gates at different places 'round the globe/They call me Merkules. it's almost like my name was never Cole." also from the second verse makes a nod to his worldwide fans which I think can go over well if performed overseas.
Track three entitled "Pump" features Stevie Ross and Tech N9ne. Produced by Mason Rex, the song begins with Stevie's hook. Afterwards the verses give us exactly what we expected. Merkules raps his ass off to prove he worthy of a Tech feature. It works. I like the bridge after the second hook where the bass picks up. All to build up to an underwhelming verse from Tech N9ne. You can definitely tell the guys didn't trade verses or collaborate and it feels like a really old Tech verse.
Track four and the first promotional single, "Way Down" features a more harmonious flow and serves as our first break in the album. It's slower than the first act and a welcomed change in tone. I like the bouncy production from C-Lance and Aaron Hiltz as it's pretty left field for what they usually collaborate on and that's what makes it so fresh.
The fifth song "Bawlz" is on a similar beat to the first song. Hi hats twittering away in the background while the snare still packs a punch. Lots of that obnoxious humor on here. I'm feeling a big Slim Shady LP vibe with the dark humor and language. The hook has some humble bragging too on it that always makes me laugh. Good beat made by Soff Beatz.
The sixth song is one of the bigger payoffs on Trust Your Gut. "Hit 'Em Kill 'Em Shoot 'Em Dead" is drill music anthem complete with tongue rolling gun ad-libs and shouting across the whole song. What really makes the song for me is the experimental format that Merk uses here. The intro is long and the first verse is quite short before the hook enters again. I like the Caspian verse on here as it balances out Merkules manic contributions. This ones lots of fun. Sean Strange emerges on here as a producer as well.
"Live This" featuring Evil Ebenezer showcases one of my lesser favourite beats as well as melodies. Merkules and Evil share retrospective lyrics on the seventh song about their journey to success and come up as musicians. I wouldn't have minded this song but there is some awful effects on the vocals throughout the song. Merkules and Evil already can pull off pretty convincing singing without the software. And this Young K beat sounds like something Post Malone left lying around. Wasn't a fan. Matter of fact, these two MC's worked on a song for Evil's recent album "Cultus" and I enjoyed that match up more than this one.
Track number eight is another fun one. "Conor MacGregor" was the second single to be released and features two intricate and playful verses from Merk over a Stuey Kubrick beat. I like what Stuey brought to the instrumentation. Hasty strings and sound effects dot this whole beat adding to the very animated tone. This goes over well in live shows and I come back to it often.
The ninth song is another goodie. "I'm From" produced by Stu Bangas brings us the closest we've gotten to a hometown anthem in Merkules career so far. Though he never mentions Surrey or B.C. he describes coming up around "the wrong crowd" and recalling his frustration with school through his teen years. There is an element of pride through the song which I like most. The second verse Merk gives some advice to kids who might be getting into the wrong habits and drops some guidance. I like the cuts mixed in between the lines on the hook. Good range on sample selection too they dug hard for those. I like the strings and drop at the beginning of the beat too.
Song number ten is called "Directions" showcasing the darker side of Merkules come up. Here he battles with the pressure of increasing fame and his coping mechanisms over a somber C-Lance beat. Another hook blended well with cuts but, this time he samples previous songs of his adding to the tragedy and realization of how long he's struggled with alcoholism and anxiety.
As the third act kicks in we see Merkules' frustration with himself continue from "Directions" into track eleven "Gon Die". The Nigel Childs produced song showcases similar emotion with a little more detail. I like the background vocals throughout and the hook showcases some of Merkules' better singing. He mentions various topics like the attempt on his life when he was 16 as well as recent family tragedies. Stevie Ross brings out some great singing on his verse while he recounts recent financial trouble has made him more grateful for what he has. I didn't care the super long fade out though considering the background vocals just get more and more augmented the longer the fade drags. The singing was fine why do we need to edit it more? The transparency from both MC's regarding the content of their verses still impresses though.
"Enemies" is our second to last song on here. Another one of my favourites with a good drum loop and some radical verses from Merkules. Lots of chopping and slower bars here making it rewarding to rap along to or memorize. Great hook on here too I wish he played it live. I like the way the drums cut in and out through out here it adds urgency to the lyrics. My favourite of the two Nigel Childs beats here.
The closer on here is "Witcha" which sounds like a nod to early 50 Cent or G-Unit love songs. I like the gentle build and minimal trap production. There's good mix of sing and rapping throughout here too. He balances references to his relationship well with stories or previous romantic disappointments. Another risk that paid off I found myself coming back to this ballad more than I expected too. I should mention Mason Rex returns to produce this one as well.
In conclusion Trust Your Gut is an ambitious follow-up to past efforts from Merkules. The album balances boom bap and cloud rap instrumentals, harmonizing hooks and a few select features, "Trust Your Gut" has a little bit for everyone. It's a good mix of formula and experimentation despite the track listing having somewhat jarring sequencing. Though that's to be expected with the mixed bag of sound we can find on here.
Pros: Great experimentation, infectious hooks, mature introspection and diverse beat choices.
Cons: Short song lengths, relatively scattered thematically and overly edited vocals on a few singing spots.
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