The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features
BMPCONCERT_2009_after_2

P.O.S. | Never Better

Rhymesayers (2009)
By CHRIS FARAONE  |  February 18, 2009
3.5 3.5 Stars

090220-pos_main
P.O.S. must have known he had a near-classic on his claws with Never Better. So must the label folks at Rhymesayers, who spent a heavy grip manufacturing the kaleidoscopic interactive liner notes accompanying his new disc. The investment was well worth it; the punk-inspired P.O.S. has done the unthinkable this time around by designing cuts fit for legit hip-hop heads and hard-rock revelers alike. Few things enrage me more than rappers who think they're too good for hip-hop, and P.O.S. is hardly such a dolt. Furthermore, because of his experience with loud bands (he's easily one of hip-hop's top live performers), dude can tweak his voice to shine through every sonic forest he decides to pillage. "Purex" — a manic-depressive drum-spattered slap against convention — might be the best new track I've heard in 2009 . . . in any genre. And the pop-flavored "Goodbye" isn't far off, even though at moments P.O.S. sounds a bit too much like his exalted labelmate Brother Ali. I didn't like the last P.O.S album — and I still don't, having tasted it again this week — and that's just fine. This one's extra special: a picture-perfect portrait of what every rap-rock hybrid attempts to do but can't. Never better indeed.
Related: Review: The Roots of Hip-Hop, Beef stakes, Due Dilla-gence, More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

Best Music Poll 2009 winners
BMP_WINNERS_AD
Today's Event Picks
--> -->
ARTICLES BY CHRIS FARAONE
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   HEALTH-CARE-REFORM TOWN HALL ALL-STARS  |  August 20, 2009
    Shamelessly successful political-smear campaigns yield exalted martyrs.
  •   HOMECOMING KINGS  |  August 18, 2009
    It doesn't matter how popular you are at any given high school; if you move to a new town — unless you have sexy twin sisters who are willing to fellate the football team — you'll be starting on the first rung of the social scaffold. The same goes for regional guitar-and-rhyme heroes.
  •   MELODY MAKERS  |  August 13, 2009
    If you’re an up-and-popping band or artist, you first need to find fans, friends, and fiends on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and, of course, in real life. But where do you go from there?
  •   PRELIMINARY FINDINGS  |  August 12, 2009
    Even knowledgeable City Hall insiders know they're better off scratching lotto tickets than wagering on Boston politics.
  •   BACDAFUCUP, INDEED!  |  August 11, 2009
    There was a moment between the late ’80s and the early ’90s when hip-hop was cheerier than diaper commercials.

 See all articles by: CHRIS FARAONE

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group