Album Reviews: February 2015 Week 2

Open Mike Eagle - "Dark Comedy" - 2014

I would say that out of all the members of Hellfyre Club, Open Mike Eagle is probably the most 'normal' sounding of the crew, which isn't to say that he's normal sounding at all in relation to the rest of the music world, just that maybe he has the most accessible and friendly approach out of the people in his crew. I first became acquainted with him seeing him as an opener for Busdriver about 5 years ago, and his live set still struck a chord with me, even though I was previously unfamiliar with him. He's very comfortable on the stage and on the mic and I think that aspect of his personality comes through well on his studio material too. His voice and flow on this album reminds me of a combination of Chance The Rapper and Kool A.D. from Das Racist (who appears as a guest on a track), even though he's on his own tip. Very sing-songy, yet laid back and confident. I enjoyed his previous LP from 2012, "4NML HSPTL", well enough, but felt it was maybe a little bit uneven and half baked sounding in places. There is no issues like that with this new one at all. I could easily just sit and let this whole album ride out with no qualms, as he is able to keep a fairly constant and cohesive vibe without ever getting boring or stale. This is easily his best album to date and has me excited at the prospect of future albums going even further within this vein. I'm quite impressed at how people like Mike continue to find new ways to approach rap and keep it interesting and progressive without succumbing to being weird just for the sake of being weird. It's hard to forge new sounds and styles in the music world in this modern era and still have it be enjoyable and accessible sounding, but there is still people like Open Mike Eagle out there doing it. Anyone wanting to know more about him, I would highly recommend checking out the episode of WTF he did with Marc Maron (it isn't available as a free download anymore, sorry). Check out the videos for "Qualifiers", "A History Of Modern Dance", "Doug Stamper (Advice Raps)" (featuring Hannibal Buress), "Informations" (featuring Kool A.D.), and "Dark Comedy Morning Show" (featuring Toy Light). You can listen to the full album here. You can purchase the album here.

Souls Of Mischief - "There Is Only Now" - 2014

It's been a really, really long time since anyone in the Hieroglyphics camp has released anything that truly excited me. Pretty much since the turn of the century, it seems like all the members of the crew are content just treading water, putting out safe yet boring (to me) albums within the underground backpacker style they're known for. I think the last time any of them released anything I would actually consider dope was the first Deltron album. Enter this new Souls Of Mischief album. They've enlisted producer Adrian Younge and his arsenal of perfectly mixed live instrumentation to breathe some new life into their equation, and for the most part it works really well. The beats on this album sound glorious, and is probably his best work yet as a producer. This is a concept album where it kind of plays out like a movie with the rappers painting the pictures with words. I have to admit that my enjoyment of this album is almost solely based on the production and the storyline seems secondary to me. It's not as uninteresting as say, Organized Konfusion's failed attempt at the same type of thing, when they made "Equinox", but by the end of the album, I really don't care enough to even find out what happens to the characters. I just want to jam out to these dope beats. I think that opinion has more to do with me as a listener than their storytelling abilities though. They did a pretty good job with it. Check out the videos for "There Is Only Now" (featuring Snoop Dogg) and "Ghetto Superhero". You can listen to the full album here. You can purchase the album here.

Culprate - "Deliverance" - 2014

Culprate is an electronic producer from Bristol, UK, who is mostly known for making dubstep of a slightly progressive nature. I first discovered him a few years ago via Soundcloud and his music caught my ear, and within a couple years he was doing remixes for big names. This new album was entirely funded by an Indiegogo campaign, and it basically puts him in a completely different category of artists, as he's now moved up to upper echelon status in my eyes. He enlisted live musicians to orchestrate and manipulate sounds from, and the results come off slightly similar to Amon Tobin without sounding like he's biting at all. This is a very clean sounding album with great sound design. I love it when artists are able to metamorphosis like this and show the world that even though they were already great before, they had much more to offer. You can listen to the album here. You can purchase the album here.

Traxman - "Tekliving" - 2014

Another dope EP in Traxman's arsenal. This one has a couple alternate versions of tracks I heard elsewhere, but all of the songs are tight. It's astounding how one man could put put so many dope songs in such a sort amount of time. You can listen to this here. You can purchase this here.

Down - "Down IV: Part II" - 2014

I'm still not exactly sure why they chose to release the 4th album in 2 parts, but I really enjoy the end results. I loved the first installment, and I like this newer one even more. Phil Anselmo really is an amazing singer, and he seems so comfortable with this band. Check out the video for "We Knew Him Well". You can listen to this album here. It looks like the only places to purchase this album are the usual legal places (amazon, itunes, etc.). It's sold out at their official site.

Mouse On Mars - "Spezmodia" - 2014

This is a nice little EP. I don't it as much as their "21 Again" compilation, or their 2012 LP, but it's still a nice energetic set of songs, and a side of them you don't normally see, which is more club friendly. Of course it's still Mouse On Mars, so it's still a little goofy sounding, but that's part of the charm. Check out the video for "Cream Theme". You can purchase this album here.