FIRST LISTEN! Kanye West - Yeezus

Noisy, consuming, animated, enraging, vulgar, cheesy, personal, political and typically star-studded; Kanye West's sixth album is an enormous, heaving, obnoxious puzzle, begging to be figured out.

On Sight
Key lyric: 'We get this bitch shaking like Parkinsons...'
Celeb moment: the unstoppable Daft Punk on additional production.
As unmistakably aggressive self-indulgent rants go, this one, drenched in harsh, industrial beats, is pretty damn powerful.
Black Skinhead
Key lyric: 'If I don't get ran out by Catholics/Here come some conservative Baptists/Claiming I'm overreacting/Like them black kids in Chiraq bitch.'
Celeb moment: a sample of Marilyn Manson's 'The Beautiful People'
Against a backdrop of wild, tribal percussion, a deliciously animated Kanye fires out some incensed reflections on the plight of black Americans. A

I Am A God (Feat. God)
Key lyric: 'Hurry up with my damn croissants!'
Celeb moment: a distorted Justin 'Bon Iver' Vernon, Hudson Mohawke on co-production and, erm, God, obviously.
Hearing Kanye West repeat the words 'I Am A God' over and over again is slightly enraging but dark, warped soundscapes make this outrageous ego trip a very fun place to be.

New Slaves
Key lyric: 'It's broke nigga racism/That's that "Don't touch anything in the store"/And this rich nigga racism/That's that "Come in, please buy more…"'
Celeb moment: Frank Ocean wigging out with those gorgeous pipes of his.
Recalling one of Ye's most insightful moments (2004's 'All Falls Down'), 'New Slaves' deals with the stranglehold of materialism. Once again, furious is a good look on West. B

Hold My Liquor
Key lyric: 'When I park my Range Rover/Slightly Scratch Your Corolla/Okay, I smashed your Corolla'
Celeb moment: a starring role this time for Justin Vernon, who croons, 'I can hold my liquor/What this man can’t handle is me.'
The contribution of Chicago rapper Chief Keef does nothing for me on this grating, distortion-heavy number. C

I'm In It
Key lyric: 'Black girl sipping white wine, put my fist in her like the Civil Rights sign'
Celeb moment: 'Time to take it too far now/Uh, Michael Douglas out the car now…'
Another beefy slowburner, 'I'm In It' is strikingly immersive thanks to the contrasting contributions of Bon Iver and Agent Sasco. B

Blood On The Leaves
Key lyric: '$2000 bag but no cash in your purse...'
Celeb moment: a sample of Nina Simone's version of 'Strange Fruit'.
On an LP when Kanye embraces his deepest, darkest racial hang-ups, 'Strange Fruit' was bound to turn up, and it sounds surprisingly brilliant stacked up against West's Vocoder-drenched rhymes and pseudochoruses. A

Guilt Trip
Key lyric: 'Star Wars fur, yeah, I'm rocking' Chewbacca'
Celeb moment: an usually soulful and introspective half-sung interlude by Kid Cudi.
This electronically rich and experimental slow jam finds Kanye in a reflective mood, mulling over a broken relationship. A

Send It Up
Key lyric: 'She say "Can you get my friends in the club?"/I say "Can you get my Benz in the club?"'
Celeb moment: the unmistakable dancehall drawl of reggae legend Beenie Man.
A hugely obnoxious 'In Da Club' number making a powerful case for style over substance. B

Bound 2
Key lyric: 'One good girl is worth a thousand bitches'
Celeb moment: uncredited vocals by Gap Band legend Charlie Wilson.
An ingenious sample of Brenda Lee's 1959 hit 'Sweet Nothin's' makes this one of the lightest and most irresistible tracks on the LP. A