Component System with the Auto Reverse

Component System with the Auto Reverse
Studio album by Open Mike Eagle
Released	October 7, 2022 (2022-10-07)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	38:07
Label	Auto Reverse Records
Open Mike Eagle chronology
Anime, Trauma and Divorce (2020) Component System with the Auto Reverse (2022)

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. 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[ing] like the culmination" to his discography.

Background

Component System with the Auto Reverse was named in reference to the shelf stereo system, a machine that was popular in the late twentieth century for allowing radio listeners to compile and record mixtapes. In his youth, 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.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Beats Per Minute	82/100
Pitchfork	7.8/10

At Metacritic, 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 4 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 describes Eagle's lyrics as "raw, off the cuff, and unfiltered", while Tim Sentz of Beats Per Minute describes the album as "tender, chaotic, and messy". Matthew Ismael Ruiz of Pitchfork 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 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.

Sonically, the album was described as featuring "smudgy, lo-fi beats".

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Song With the Secret Name"	Michael W. Eagle II	Child Actor	2:15
2.	"TDK Scribbled Intro"	Eagle	Kuest1	0:45
3.	"79th and Stony Island"	Eagle	Quelle Chris	4:04
4.	"I'll Fight You"	Eagle Joseph Kirkland	Diamond D	2:45
5.	"Circuit City" (with Video Dave and Still Rift)	Eagle Video Dave Still Rift	Madlib	3:06
6.	"I Retired Then I Changed My Mind"	Eagle	Child Actor	2:35
7.	"Burner Account" (with Armand Hammer)	Eagle Billy Woods Chaz Hall Quelle Chris	Quelle Chris	3:25
8.	"For DOOM"	Eagle	Illingsworth	2:04
9.	"Crenshaw and Homeland"	Eagle	Diamond D	3:38
10.	"Multi-Game Arcade Cabinet" (with Video Dave, Still Rift, and R.A.P. Ferreira)	Eagle Video Dave Still Rift Rory Ferreira	Illingsworth	3:07
11.	"Credits Interlude" (with Serengeti)	Eagle David Cohn	Illingsworth	0:43
12.	"Peak Lockdown Raps"	Eagle	Child Actor	3:32
13.	"Kites" (with Video Dave and Still Rift)	Eagle Video Dave Still Rift	Kuest1	2:32
14.	"CD Only Bonus Track" (with Aesop Rock and Diamond D)	Eagle Ian Bavitz Kirkland	Diamond D	3:36
Total length:				38:07