The Rundown: Kid Cudi, Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon

A track-by-track review of Cudder's surprise fourth album.

The Rundown: Kid Cudi, Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon - Though he's yet to replicate the commercial or mainstream success of his breakout single, 2008's "Day 'n' Nite," Kid Cudi has continued to evolve, but hasn't deviated from his winning formula. With his latest release, Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon, a surprise fourth solo album, he again exhibits his varied styles (singing, rapping), his particular production palate (both atmospheric and rock-influenced) and themes he's been developing in years past. Read on for a track-by-track breakdown. (Photo: Republic Records)

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The Rundown: Kid Cudi, Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon - Though he's yet to replicate the commercial or mainstream success of his breakout single, 2008's "Day 'n' Nite," Kid Cudi has continued to evolve, but hasn't deviated from his winning formula. With his latest release, Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon, a surprise fourth solo album, he again exhibits his varied styles (singing, rapping), his particular production palate (both atmospheric and rock-influenced) and themes he's been developing in years past. Read on for a track-by-track breakdown. (Photo: Republic Records)

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"Destination: Mother Moon" - Clocking in at just under two minutes, the album's lyricless opening track sets the mood for what's to come with futuristic, spacey sounds. (Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for VEVO)

"Mad Solar" - The self-proclaimed Man on the Moon is apparently up for a sun visit as well. But the droning production, which repeats four notes on and on, makes for a cloudy forecast. (Photo: C.M. Wiggins/WENN.com)

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"Going to the Ceremony" - "Drinking again, drinking again," Kid Cudi admits on his first words on the album. The second track, co-produced with Dot da Genius, has a rock-influenced feel, much like their collaborative effort, WZRD. (Photo: C.M. Wiggins/WENN.com)

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"Satellite Flight" - The album's titular track finds Cudder touching on themes he's woven into his music since he emerged with his 2009 debut, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, delivering lyrics like, "Lets take it where there aren't any roads/Where these sucka hatin' n----s can't follow."(Photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images)

"King Wizard" - One of the album's ill-chosen singles, "King Wizard" puts one of the album's biggest weaknesses up front: Cudi's still a production newbie, and the stiff, mind-numbingly repetitive, synths and drums on this song make it obvious, marring an otherwise dope hook and vocal performance. Pictured: Kid Cudi (Photo: Rick Davis / Splash News)

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"Copernicus Landing" - Another primarily instrumental cut, the airy "Copernicus Landing" includes a few subtle notes sung by Cudi, who also produced the song, but no other lyrics. (Photo: Rick Davis / Splash News)

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"Balmain Jeans" Featuring Raphael Saadiq - For the album's most overt love song, Cudder, fittingly, enlists Raphael Saadiq for some background vocals. "You can lick it after I’m done lickin’ you first/I wanna taste it," the Cleveland MC propsitions explicitly. (Photos from left: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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"Balmain Jeans" Featuring Raphael Saadiq - For the album's most overt love song, Cudder, fittingly, enlists Raphael Saadiq for some background vocals. "You can lick it after I’m done lickin’ you first/I wanna taste it," the Cleveland MC propsitions explicitly. (Photos from left: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

“Unf--kwittable” - More gloomy synthesizer swells announce the album's first true song, "Unf--kwittable." Kid Cudi made a left turn on Indicud by taking on the production himself, and this is one of his finer moments, with driving, sparse drums underlying the electric guitar melody that recalls the better moments of his WZRD rap-rock side project. Ironically, it's Cudi's bread and butter—his trademark blend of singing and rapping—that causes problems here, with the off-key adlibs derailing the triumphant hook right when it's about to get catchy. (Photo: Aaron Gilbert / WENN.com)

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"Too Bad I Have to Destroy You Now" - More atmospheric sounds scatter the production of "Too Bad I Have to Destroy You Now," as Kid Cudi spews his characteristic dismissive confidence, vowing to look past haters: "People talk s--t 'bout me/And they know that I know, and they also knowin’ they ain't right."(Photo: Aaron Gilbert / WENN.com)

“The Resurrection of Scott Mescudi” - The album starts with the sounds of crickets at night, which is fitting. The entire record, which Cudi produced himself, definitely has a desolate, nighttime feel, and the spooky synths—another common sonic theme throughout—that begin creeping in on this hazy instrumental intro set it off. (Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Landov)

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"Internal Bleeding" - In potentially the darkest song on the release, Cudi admits "I done tried it all," but he "can't stop this internal bleeding." He draws out the words as he croons them, sounding hollowed. (Photo: REUTERS /BENOIT TESSIER /LANDOV)

"In My Dreams 2015" - In a continuation of a song from his debut ("In My Dreams"), Cudder's "In My Dreams 2015" features a spaced out beat and robotic sounding vocals, and, like the intro, clocks in at just under two minutes. (Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research)

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"In My Dreams 2015" - In a continuation of a song from his debut ("In My Dreams"), Cudder's "In My Dreams 2015" features a spaced out beat and robotic sounding vocals, and, like the intro, clocks in at just under two minutes. (Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research)

"Lord of the Sad and Lonely" - We're not sure how this album ended up at 18 tracks. As "Lord of the Sad and Lonely" kicks in, the album's same-y production, filled with quirky percrussion and dark minor-key riffs played by—you guessed it—synths, becomes even more glaring. It's a shame, because Cudi kind of blacks out lyrically here. (Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Bacardi)

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"Return of the Moon Man (Original Score)" - In yet another purely instrumental effort, "Return of the Moon Man (Original Score)" puts Kid Cudi's efforts as a producer at the forefront. (Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Bacardi)

"The Flight of the Moon Man" - Kid Cudi ends the album with another rather pointless instrumental digression, adding even more minutes to the already hefty 18 tracks. Ironically though, the production here is more dynamic and interesting than many of the more central songs. Cudi's making a point here—"I produced this album myself!"—but really he makes us miss the presence of Kanye West, Emile, Ratatat and his other former beatmaking collaborators. (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

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"Troubled Boy" - With a bit of a folky feel, the album's final song again puts a somber Cudi on display, as he laments with lines like, "No one wants a troubled boy" and "Still have no one." (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)