''Component System with the Auto Reverse'' (sometimes listed under the title ''A Tape Called Component System with the Auto Reverse'') is the eighth studio album by rapper

Open Mike Eagle Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...

. It was preceded by three singles: "Burner Account", "Multi-Game Arcade Cabinet", and "I'll Fight You". The album has been regarded as "easily one of Open Mike Eagle's most enjoyable efforts" and as "feel nglike the culmination" to his discography.

Background

''Component System with the Auto Reverse'' was named in reference to the

shelf stereo A shelf stereo, also stereo, micro component system or mini component system, is a compact stereo system. They are usually both small enough to fit on an average shelf (hence their name) and sold with all of their necessary components packaged to ...

system, a machine that was popular in the late twentieth century for allowing radio listeners to compile and record mixtapes. During his adolescence in the 1990s, Eagle made many such mixtapes out of music he heard on college radio stations in his native Chicago. He consequently chose the name and aesthetic of this album as a reference to one such mixtape. The 1990s also inspired the visual direction of the album, which made reference to touchstones of the era such as VHS tapes and the retailer

Circuit City Circuit City is an American consumer electronics retail company, which was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company, operated stores across the United States, and pioneered the electronics superstore format in the 1970s. After m ...

. Eagle has stated that his writing process on ''Component System with the Auto Reverse'' was "more about technique" than it had been on previous albums, and that he was deliberately seeking to "break creative thresholds" in a way he had not previously attempted. He describes the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 as having been psychologically challenging, and has stated that "exploring iscraft" collaboratively with other rappers shaped his approach to he album.

Critical reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, ''Component System with the Auto Reverse'' received an average score of 83 based on 5 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". ''Component System'' was widely described by critics as featuring a looser structure and a more whimsical mood than Eagle's previous albums. Paul Simpson of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

describes Eagle's lyrics as "raw, off the cuff, and unfiltered", while Tim Sentz of ''

Beats Per Minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

'' describes the album as "tender, chaotic, and messy". Matthew Ismael Ruiz of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' noted that the album's aesthetic was "raw but carefully considered". Eagle received particular praise for his ability to pivot between humorous and introspective content on the album. ''Pitchfork'' describes Eagle as using "a bittersweet sense of humor to soothe his painful awareness of the world's absurdity", Ryan Dillon of ''Glide'' commends Eagle's "switching between cartoonish raps and unshakable directness", and Noah Berlatsky of the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...

'' highlights Eagle's "loopy gags that float and bob and tie themselves together into surprisingly thoughtful reveries on aging, mental illness, disappointment, and hope". Eagle's technical skill on the album was also noted positively: critics described him as writing "tightly packed nerd raps" that were "filled with casually brilliant moments". The ''Glide'' review remarked that Eagle seemed to be more confident in his rapping skill than on previous releases. In a more mixed review, Ben Brutocao of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' stated that—although the first half of the album sported "some of the most sure-footed rapping" in Eagle's discography–the project's second half failed to reach the same level. Sonically, the album was described as featuring "sample-rich production with... nostalgic low-end", as well as "smudgy, lo-fi beats" and "cranky boom-bap".

Track listing

References

{{Open Mike Eagle 2022 albums Open Mike Eagle albums Albums produced by Diamond D Albums produced by Madlib Albums produced by Quelle Chris Hip hop albums by American artists