Connor Flanagan ‘Skyscrapers’ Album Review

Connor Flanagan
Skyscrapers
(Dayton Avenue)

Connor Flanagan is a young indie hip-hop artist climbing his way to notoriety, and the aptly-titled Skyscrapers, his third release, should help him reach new heights. Flanagan’s biographical sketches play out like a hip-hop spiritual journal on Skyscrapers, an eight-song EP with numerous guests and further production help from Ric Robbins (Grits, Out of Eden).

Opening track “Anchor” kicks off with mournful acoustic piano and speaks to the grace of God’s protection as he pleads “keep me from floating away,” while “Into the Wild,” with unplugged rap approach, grapples with temptation: “How’d you make it 40 days? /I can’t even go an hour without praying for strength.”

Although limited in form, Skyscrapers spans a wide reach of musical styles. “Make a Way” incorporates EDM elements. “Landslide” steps to dance-pop grooves, whereas the acoustic retake of “Landslide” shows off a folk or singer-songwriter vibe. Providing added vocal color, Rin Tarsy plays the welcome female counterpart to Flanagan on the album’s title track.

As an indie artist, Flanagan has already earned a short tour stint with Crowder last year and landed on the iTunes Top 10 with his previous release, Mountains. We’re excited to see just how high Skyscrapers can reach.

—Dan MacIntosh