Stones Throw (2012)
By ZETH LUNDY | April 10, 2012
|
No, this isn't the theological rap supergroup you've been pining for. Portishead's Geoff Barrow, d/b/a Fuzzface, is but one of many cooks — 35, by one count — in the kitchen of Quakers, a deep-groove, deep-thought hip-hop collaborative debuting on the venerable Stones Throw label. The roster is mostly lesser-known emcees (Dead Prez and the Pharcyde's Booty Brown are the closest here to star power), and the vibe is partly cloudy and decidedly anti-pop. Along with 7-Stu-7 (Portishead's engineer) and Katalyst, Barrow wields beats that oscillate between rubbery funk ("Smoke"), modern synth ("Jobless"), Stax-esque grooviness ("What Chew Want"), and free-form weirdness ("Russia with Love"). Comprising 41 tracks, each running no longer than two minutes, Quakers is like something Guided by Voices would do if they made indie hip-hop: scatterbrained and riddled with past influences. As dense and diggable as it may be, however, its sheer quantity of intel and change-ups can be euphorically overwhelming. As Guilty Simpson boasts in "Fitta Happier" (atop a brass-band Radiohead sample, no less), "Lot of rappers got one style/Me? I got numerous."
Related:
Various Artists | Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010, Bearstronaut | Broken Handclaps, Avi Buffalo | Avi Buffalo, More
- Various Artists | Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010
The notion that regional musical flavors exist independently in American cities is quickly becoming an archaic truism, seeing as how the world really is a stage these days, at least in the digital sense.
- Bearstronaut | Broken Handclaps
There's a distinct absence of wildlife or astronauts on Lowell electronica quartet Bearstronaut's latest release.
- Avi Buffalo | Avi Buffalo
Look, I get it: the last thing we need right now is yet another band who can be described as “sun-baked,” “reverb-soaked,” or even just “psychedelic.” But Avi Buffalo (I know! An animal name to boot!) are worth your attention for a few reasons.
- J the S | The Last Days
J the S has been promising The Last Days since he went by Jake the Snake.
- The Punch Brothers | Who's Feeling Young Now?
For a group full of virtuosos, the Punch Brothers refuse to dole out prodigious string-murdering sessions.
- Ital | Hive Mind
If there was a broken-record knock against electronic music in the last decade, it's that it all sounded the same.
- Die Antwoord | Ten$ion
Moreso than any "controversially-lipped" chanteuse (to borrow from one of Lana Del Rey's many observers), South African rap/rave/meme/satire/knuckleheads Die Antwoord beg the question:"Is that all there is?"
- Van Halen | A Different Kind of Truth
Who would've thought Eddie Van Halen would still be innovative in his late 50s?
- Craig Finn | Clear Heart, Full Eyes
In the near-decade he's spent as frontman-lyricist of bar-rock saviors the Hold Steady, Craig Finn has hardly been labeled a happy camper.
- Cotton Mather | Kontiki [Deluxe Edition]
When it was released in 1997, Cotton Mather's sophomore album racked up glowing critical huzzahs across the pond (not to mention big-ups from Oasis), yet dudded here in the States.
- Field Music | Plumb
The buzz about Britain's Field Music has been growing for some time.
- Less
Topics:
CD Reviews
, Music, Arts, CD reviews, More
, Music, Arts, CD reviews, Stones Throw, Quakers, Quakers, Less