Review: Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘Doris’ is worth repeated listens

Musical obsessions are some of life’s great pleasures, and “Doris,� the latest album by Los Angeles rapper and Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt, 19, has lived in my car at huge volume for a month now.

I’ll confess to crawling up next to cars blasting “Molasses,� a dubby, reggae-rolling jam co-produced by RZA and Christian Rich, sonic humble-bragging my way through L.A. I know the nooks and crannies of this baby — Earl rapping “new patterns, paddy-caking with mannequins� while a spooky organ hums out a carousel melody on “20 Wave Caps,� for instance — and the moments of joy I’ve discovered are notable.

RELATED: Best albums of 2013 so far | Randall Roberts

Some are tiny, but part of huge narratives: Of one weed-smoking character, Earl raps: “Kept the sticky in the Stussy pouch.� Autobiographical tidbits blossom with linguistically acrobatic lines. “Hide away in the shade of his maimed innocence/Suitcase scented with haze and filleted sentences,� raps Earl on “Whoa.�

Surprisingly, these moments are both musical and lyrical and feature grand appearances by a roster including Vince Staples, the Neptunes, Casey Veggies and Frank Ocean (the latter on the album’s best track, “Sunday�). Earl, born Thebe Kgositsile, might be best known for his precocious way around a rhyme, but “Doris� features instrumental interludes, expanded mid-song diversions and enough surprise to warrant repeated — obsessive — evaluation.

Earl Sweatshirt

“Doris�

(Tan Cressida/Sony)

Four stars (out of four)