Pitchfork

Unless J.J. Abrams' take on the über-slick/incomprehensible De Palma/Woo acrobatic-spy franchise turns out to be a heartwarming family dramedy, "Impossible" is going to sound a bit out of place. So is blockbuster-mode Tom Cruise going to make room for a swollen-up, summery, rap&b declaration of supremacy? And does it even matter? Probably not, if it means we get yet another Kanye track that makes weird noises sound perfectly pop: off-kilter, barely audible stutter-drums, spiraling horns, hair-metal guitar-wheedles, German techno synth-blips.

As usual, an old soul sample holds everything together and turns it all warm and gooey, Keyshia Cole cooing along gorgeously. As usual, Kanye uses Twista more as a rhythmic element than as an actual guest rapper, which is pretty much the best way to use Twista. And as usual, Kanye himself raps with such endearing awkwardness that it's almost possible to forgive a line like, "It's impossible!/ Got strip clubs playing gospital!/ Flow so sick in the hospital!" I have no idea what all this has to do with Tom Cruise somersault-jumpkicking Philip Seymour Hoffman, but Kanye has once again figured out a way to transcend a dubious context by just giving us a really good song.

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