the blog of Jerry Bolton
Music Reviews
Critically written reviews of new-release music.
…is another man’s treasure
13 years ago
Title: One Man’s Trash
Artist: JustMe
Label: Illect Recordings
Length: 15 Tracks / 54:10
I’m the antithesis of those who want they bling
And flaunt they things, but I ain’t impressed
By ya transportation and your augmented breast.
I’m in a vest, like Safir in Iraq
Packin’ a MAC-10 while under attack.
But I ain’t all that, I’m a snivellin’ brat
A white male in America that likes to rap.
Slap me with your stereotype, I can take it
I’m like a bad actor, man, I can’t fake it.
(from “The Song”)
I thought I had no idea who JustMe was, but a quick spot of research online revealed that not only do I know who he is, I’m also a big fan of his previous work. Allow me to explain. Back in the early days of this decade, when mp3.com was the hotspot for all internet music goodness and everyone was still using WinAmp, a Christian hip-hop crew called The SolSeekers took their song “Audience of One” to the top of the site’s rap charts. Their song beat out mainstream acts like Slikk the Shocker, Master P, Snoop Dogg, and Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest for cumulative listens and downloads for a duration of multiple weeks. The group went on to release a string of great tracks on mp3.com, an album entitled People Watching in 2000, and appear on Sackcloth Fashion’s somewhat infamous double-compilation record Fashion Expo in 2001. One of the emcees in SolSeekers went by the name Sage.
Sometime around the release of their 2003 EP Halfway There, Sage and The SolSeekers combined forces with another well-known and respected group, Future Shock (who released The Art of Xenos shortly thereafter). For a short time, Sage was even a member of West Coast supercrew the Tunnel Rats. During the mid-2000′s, Sage and his crews were all over the place on compilations and mixtapes, appearing on the records of friends and fellow artists, and just generally making a lot of good noise.
It turns out, sometime in the last few years, Sage changed his name to JustMe, went solo, and helped to start up a new supercrew, Scribbling Idiots. So, confusing as it may be, I’ve shared this brief history lesson for a reason – JustMe isn’t a new face in hip-hop, he’s just a cat with a new name and a new crew, still churning out the rhymes we all recall so fondly from his days as Sage. If you’re skeptical, check out that decade-old SolSeekers track “Audience of One” for a real good time.
Fast forward. I last heard Justme on his combo EP with Sintax.the.Terrific, Merciless, and if you’ve read the review you’ll recall that I was duly impressed with where he’s at in his craft now. His interaction with Sintax on that EP gelled nicely and really helped to make it one of the more memorable rap EP’s in recent memory, both in terms of sound and content. As you can imagine, I was intrigued as to what his solo record One Man’s Trash would offer, as it was released by Illect around the same time in 2006 as Merciless and Sintax’s Curb Appeal.
I just realized that it doesn’t do me any good
to be a mad rapper, you can find those in any hood.
Besides, man, if it were to happen to me,
They could be laughing at me,
I just happen to be
The one that’s rapping for free,
Gettin’ a bachelor’s degree,
I got a family to feed and I’ll be damned if I be
The dad that got selfish and ran with his dream
But man, I’m not helpless; the Lamb’s on my team
And I’m glad that I’ve seen all the madness it brings
When these cats do they thing and the crowds all scream
I can only pray that we planted a seed
Your dreams are only shallow if you quit ‘cuz of greed.
(from “Shallow Dreams”)
With that as background, here are my thoughts on One Man’s Trash. Musically, the whole record has a really jazzy, bluesy, 70′s feel to it. The beats are noteworthy for their generous use of lush horns, strings, keys, and some old synths that sound like they were pulled straight out of an old cop-show theme. There’s also a good, restrained feel to the beats – they haven’t pumped the sound so full of sound that it gets in the way of the raps, and it’s seldom that samples comes off annoying or over-used in their songs. One exception would be the gritty, off-tune warble of the guitar in “Just Playin’” – which is one of the weaker tracks on the album, a brief ditty where JustMe sarcastically beats up on deadbeat gamers that choose their Playstations and Xboxes over family or… well… life. There’s nothing wrong with the concept, or the need to lampoon such folk, but the execution comes off a little weak and the game references waver between too cliche (GTA2, Madden), too old (Pacman), and too obscure (Crash Bandicoot) to really qualify as ‘hardcore deadbeat gamer trash’, even if this record is from 2006.
I wouldn’t cite “Just Playin’” as a stereotypical track from the record, though. There’s actually a lot of meaningful content to be found – some touching, some heavy. The record starts with “The Song”, a great manifesto track that sums JustMe’s approach to rap nicely – something that is, in many ways, also summed up in his assumed name. He’s “just me”, just who he was created to be. This attitude of humility pervades the record, particularly “Latenight Lullaby”, which really brings the Family Man vibe, as JustMe raps to his newborn son – musing on the hard work of his wife, the mysteries of growing up, and the value of relying on God for strength amidst the long sleepless nights. His aforementioned son is sampled for the track, crying during the first verse and progressively calming and happy by the end of the track. Initially this is grating (crying babies tend to be), but once you understand the progression that takes place during the track, it actually adds to the emotional impact of the song considerably to hear the son “responding” to the father’s words and singing. Speaking of singing, One Man’s Trash has great, smooth choruses, usually sung by JustMe himself. If there’s one thing to say about the choruses, it’s that he has a great ear for them – I’ve caught myself with them stuck in my head numerous time. If there’s a dud, it’s “Shallow Dreams” – an otherwise great, chill kind of song that is really only held back by the chorus, which comes across a bit too languid and, perhaps, just below JustMe’s ideal singing range.
Another standout track is “Louder Days”, marked by some beautiful saxophone sampling that really takes it over the top. The second verse really stuck to me:
Life is a series of obstacles, so many resources as your follicles
It’s a jungle out there, but not tropical
And I feel it’s my duty to stop the bull.
There’s no topical solution for these optical illusions
Some packin’ chips, stackin’ grips, losin’
‘Cuz of the lifestyle that they’re choosin’.
Yet they, still swing to knock while I deliver
And while they missing, I stand here and shiver -
Exercising my gift from the Giver,
Instead of despising my ship up the river.
(from “Louder Days”)
JustMe is a talented cat, no doubt. His Southern California pedigree in breaking, producing, and particularly emceeing over the last decade-plus really comes through on One Man’s Trash. The guests he chose to accompany him on the record (fellow Scribbling Idiots like Cas Metah, Mouth Warren, and Theory Hazit, as well as underground mainstays like Pigeon John and newcomer MotionPlus) all come on point and add nicely to the tracks they are featured on. Nowhere is this more clear than on “Just Raps”, which features the entirety of the Future Shock and Scribbling Idiots crews, in all their rap monstrosity – absolutely one of the record’s highlights.
Overall, this is a great hip-hop record – there’s plenty of memorable beats, noteworthy rhymes, and enough cerebral content to keep you ponderin’ long after the record stops. The production is tight, as is arguably the case on all of the records that Illect Recordings has ever pounded out of their camp. If One Man’s Trash has a weakness, it’s that the qualities it possesses don’t always synchronize – as in the earlier example of “Shallow Dreams”, where the otherwise great song is held back by its weak chorus. Of course, this is the area where subjectivity reigns – where I find a beat weak, others really dig. Where I find a chorus to be excellent and praiseworthy, others may find it to be a dud, and so on.
I think the principle remains though – it’s difficult to get your verses, your choruses, and your beats to all come together in a “symphony of awesome”. Sometimes, JustMe succeeds on One Man’s Trash, and that makes it worth the price of admission. For some, they’ll find more trash than treasure, but some of what you’ll find here is undeniably fresh. The record has been out for a couple years now so there’s no way you’d pay more than 10 bucks for it, so my recommendation is to check it.
3.5 treasure chests out of 5.
Trivia: “Low Budget”, which features RUSH, Cas Metah, and MotionPlus, has a great guitar sample that is immediately recognizable from Phonetic Composition’s song “PC Tools” from the classic record of the same name.
Standout Tracks: Favorite Rapper, Low Budget, To The Toppers, Let Go (Dream Sequence), Louder Days, Just Raps.
Jerry Bolton – for The Phantom Tollbooth.
April 7th, 2009
…memories of dark days
03 years ago
Title: Surrounded By Lights
Artist: Jesse Sprinkle
Label: Blind Records
Length: 12 Tracks / 44:35
Gorgeous, stripped-down acoustics coupled with careful harmonies typify this offering from Jesse Sprinkle.
Jesse was a founding member of the legendary 90′s Christian rock band Poor Old Lu, and is a former member of Morella’s Forest, Demon Hunter, Dead Poetic, A Cold Vein, and Burning Daylight. Unless I am mistaken, in all of these cases, he served as the drummer. Such is not the case on Blind Records’ 2008 release Surrounded By Lights, which, if you include Jesse’s time calling himself “The World Inside”, is approximately his 12th solo recording. On this, as with all aforementioned solo projects, Jesse basically handles everything – drums certainly, but also guitars, vocals, and generally any other instrumentation you hear. Despite releasing such a litany of material over the last decade, as well as arduous touring with Demon Hunter for a period, very few are familiar with his solo work, which is characterized by harmonies – at times soaring, at times subdued – and beautiful and simple acoustic guitar work laced nicely with other orchestration.
Jesse categorizes this record as “dark pop”, and it’s a fitting moniker. The overall tone of the disc is shaded, and the mood is decidedly quiet and suspended in thought and contemplation. It comes through in the downtempo pacing as well as the lyrics, such as this example from midway through the disc:
There comes a moment when you have to touch
All the hurt you hold so dear
Then an echo bounces off the blood
And it asks you to follow near
I could not protect it
I could not discern
Between the lines of fabrication’s words
Jesus never told me
How to love and learn
In a time like now,
Between the Ice and Earth
(from “Between the Ice and Earth”)
This isn’t the sort of record that sticks in your head, as a rule. It is, however, the sort of record that has a distinguishable “sound” that is very attractive to have backing up specific moods. If you’re feeling subdued and mournful, melancholy, or perhaps apprehensive and anxious for a future to come… Sprinkle provides the soundtrack.
This guilt within
Isn’t what I’ve been
In the August light
It’s paperthin
But we don’t begin
Until we really die
And the answer’s become
Erased
We’ll dance in the sun
For days
In the moonlight above
Forgave,
And one day You’ll ask me to come.
(from “Lights of June”)
Jesse has a great falsetto – a rare thing amongst singer/songwriters of late (two others that come to mind immediately are The Rocket Summer’s Bryce Avary and Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan), and, even better, has a great ear for harmonies – another rarity. Both are put to extensive use on Surrounded By Lights.
If I was forced to draw comparisons, I’d say that Jesse sounds like his brother Aaron Sprinkle (also known to release poppy acoustic guitar records) might if he were prone to slave over his records as much as he slaves over his production work for Tooth & Nail. Which is to say, Jesse has layered Surrounded By Lights with enough complexity to give it depth, without sacrificing the sublimity that is “a man and his guitar”. Those with a penchant for the sort of things you frequently hear strummed and hummed at coffeehouses and small pubs will find plenty to wash themselves in here.
Other than the transcendent pacing and “feel” of the music, the decidedly “dark” part of the “dark pop” found on Surrounded By Lights is the lyrics. Jesse doesn’t deal in happy, optimistic generalizations here – there is an urgency and a stirring evidence of hard-wrought labour in the words. Consider the previous examples quoted as well as this:
Sleepwalking to destinations dim
She’s responding with nothing but a grin:
Your religion is frail
Blurred visions and rusty nails
The womb of grace unshown
No…
Keys dropping and games evolved to wars
There’s no stopping, as ceilings become floors
Your correction has failed
Steel buildings and casket sales
Remind me who I was
Fold me over, lighting…
Fill the ocean, crying…
Will we go down, fighting
With the worst years yet to come?
(from “Steel Buildings And Caskets)
Lyrically, there’s a lot to ingest. Jesse makes no attempt to mask his expansive grasp on the English language – and it shows on every track with plenty of excellent and complicated constructions to work your head through. There’s a lot of spiritual content as well, much of which is difficult to make heads and tails of because some of it is presented as quotation from a character in a song, whereas other parts are Jesse himself speaking. The general tone of it seems to be neutral – questioning and curious, not necessarily attacking or defending. The best thing to compare it to would be the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, which is quoted in the liner notes:
Light is sweet,
And it pleases the eye to see the sun.
However many years a man may live,
Let him enjoy them all.
But let him remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
Everything to come is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 (NIV)
The recurring theme of the album is in it’s title: we are Surrounded By Lights, even amidst the memory of our “days of darkness”. This album appears to be just such a memoir – memories of dark days in Jesse’s life, captured, redeemed, and shared, hopefully, with those who will listen.
The bottom line is that this is a darkly atmospheric, beautifully organic, harmonious, soaring, haunting collection of songs. Play it on those early mornings when you scrape yourself out of bed, those late nights when you’re chained to the keyboard to polish off that last assignment, or those times when the world makes so little sense you just need to retreat from it. Highly recommended listening.
4 lightrays out of 5.
Standout Tracks:Better Places, Between The Ice And Earth, Lights Of June, Wait Or Want, Steel Buildings And Caskets, The Legend Of Saint Agnes.
Jerry Bolton – for The Phantom Tollbooth.
April 6th, 2009
…if you got soul
03 years ago
Title: Deepspace5oul
Artist: Beat Rabbi & Deepspace5
Label: Illect Recordings
Length: 22 Tracks / 63:21
Have you ever wanted to time travel? Do you love relevant, conscious, thinking-man’s hip-hop? If you answered “YES!” to both of those questions, Beat Rabbi and Deepspace5 have concocted the perfect cure for your ailments in the form of their late-2007 Illect Recordings release cleverly entitled Deepspace5oul.
Made up of 22 tracks, about 10 of which are interludes (some are short songs, some are instrumental) – the record is jam-packed with more Deepspace5 than you can handle. Recorded during the summer of 2003 prior to their sophomore release Unique, Just Like Everyone Else, Deepspace5oul is a blast from the past equivalent to the manic time-travel episodes of Bill Watterson’s classic serialized comic strip Calvin & Hobbes. The album gives us an unique presentation of the DS5 crew since it is the only release to feature singular production. Where all other DS5 releases have featured production from DJ Dust and Manwell, as well as rappers Fred Bruno, Playdough, and others (highlighting the multi-disciplinary talent of the crew), Beat Rabbi handles all of the beats on this project with only supplementary scratching and the like from others.
Thus, Deepspace5oul is an interesting side-release of the crew that highlights the excellent sounds coming out of Rabbi’s lab as well as sharing some circa-2004 raps from the crew. This is a remarkable listening experience for any fan of the group; the lyrics are excellent as always, and you can really hear by contrast just how much some of the guys’ vocals have improved since then. It’s a study in improvement and change, in that sense.
Musically, Rabbi sends up some of his best work ever on Deepspace5oul, sampling and fusing extensively from sounds such as soul, jazz, funk, and breaks – harking back to that classic (and rightly so) 1990′s rap sound. Sonically, the album traverses a wide landscape of areas – from full horn sections tickling your subconscious (“Deepspace 5oul”) to brilliant vocal tracks forming the backbone of a beat (“Beautiful”) to amazing bassline-driven rhythms (“On A Side Note”), Deepspace5oul is an exercise in production excellence. It’s plain that much time and thought and perfectionism was focused on this project, and the results are quite frankly thrilling.
Lyrically, the DS5 crew brings it as tight as they always have. Hearing new-to-us verses from almost 5 years ago is a very interesting experience, as it not only highlights the great strides of improvement made since (which has already been mentioned), but also just how amazing DS5 was even prior to that forward progress. Most notable is when the difference isn’t really even in the realm of “improvement” but of just plain difference – see The Listener’s verses, which definitely sound much more akin to his more traditional Whispermoon and The Night We Called It A Day style than to his present manifestation as heard and enjoyed on Ozark Empire or Return to Struggleville. Overall, between the shiny verses and the smart choruses, there’s food-for-thought and phonetic wonder here for weeks of repeated listens.
With the recent release of Bake Sale (an EP by DS5 standards at 10 tracks) and Greatest Beats & Unreleased (a b-sides and beat record), both in 2008, as well as 2009′s soon-coming and much-anticipated third album The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be, it’s becoming clearer than ever that Deepspace5 is one of rap’s undisputed supernovas of talent and an incredible machine that churns out hip-hop happiness in a way few other crews could ever hope to come near.
Deepspace5oul is a blast from the past that seems carefully designed from the top down to remind us that Deepspace5 pumps out quality, mind-and-heart-blowing hip-hop not only in the present and future, but the past as well. If you love rap and time-travel, you owe it to yourself to pick this puppy up and let it explore your soul with sound.
5 Souls out of 5.
Standout Tracks: Deepspace 5oul, Beautiful, On A Side Note, Double Dog Dare You, Downtown Connects, Say Yeah.
Jerry Bolton – for The Phantom Tollbooth.
January 10, 2009
…because his mercy is ‘merciless’
03 years ago
Title: Merciless EP
Artist: JustMe & Sintax the Terrific
Label: Illect Recordings
Length: 6 Tracks / 19:32
One part playa, one part Puritan,
All parts Prodigal Son sent to return
(Sintax on “Compound Interest”)
In a genre where albums regularly clock in over 15 tracks and at least an hour of playtime, EP’s are fairly scarce – and even more difficult to ingest. Typically you have a boatload of beats and rhymes to ingest with which to assess the artists’ heart and soul and style. To have just a scant six tracks and twenty minutes of playtime to accomplish the same feat is no small order.
This is particularly true when the EP in question features the dynamite duo of JustMe and Sintax the Terrific. Southern California’s JustMe is known for his past work with early 2000′s crew The SolSeekers and for his current run with supercrew Scribbling Idiots. He also has one solo record out (One Man’s Trash) and another on the way. Sintax is best known as being one of the nine mouth-pieces in rap-godzilla-monster posse Deepspace 5 and for his two well-received solo albums, Simple Moves and Curb Appeal. Both emcees are well-known and respected in the Christian “Triple H” (Holy Hip Hop) community. Thus, the combination of the two is timely and more importantly it promises good things.
As expected, good things abound on Merciless. The dynamic of doing a collaborative EP is one that JustMe and Sintax approach in a very fluid and manageable way that comes across as being anything but forced and results in some really remarkable intertexting and crossplay. The best example of this would be the first track, “Saturation Point”, where they each have a distinct overall form of the same beat and the beat morphs back and forth between those two forms (and a multitude of subtle variations) as they take their turns – each one going for about 16 bars at a time. The effect is brilliant and it gives a perfect introduction to the rappers as well as to the EP; it showcases their distinct styles while drawing them together to highlight their united voice. The song’s content itself is equally impressive, essentially capturing a fictional conversation’s dialogue back-and-forth.
This united front proves to be a formidable strength throughout the record, as JustMe and Sintax have never really been ones to shy away from difficult or heady topics. Both prove themselves formidable in terms of deftly weaving meaningful orthodox theology and philosophy of life throughout their verses on Merciless. Topics include life and how to live it, death, the mysteries and wonders of God’s justice and mercy in Christ, and quite a bit more. All of this is remarkable considering they cover this ground in a mere six cuts.
One song in particular which gripped me lyrically was the EP’s fourth, entitled “Death is Real”. The best way to explain why is to share some of the profundity with you directly. First, we hear the beginning of the first verse, from JustMe:
In the words of Paul – “I’m the worst sinner”
Living it up while the starving get thinner
Dinner for the flies, Beginner to the wise,
Even God knows what it’s like to die
Like sight to eye, that fades away
Some sooner than later, can’t wait for the Day…
(JustMe on “Death Is Real”)
Later on in the song, Sintax drops this bomb of a verse. This was pretty much the crown verse of the record in my mind, and really served as a beautiful closer on a beautiful, haunting track. Here it is:
Yo, I’m back from the dead to tell you that it’s for real
Out-of-body born-again-believer appeal
I’m feelin’ eager to peel back the ether intact
You might have read some CS Lewis but you don’t know Jack
The brain’s an artifact, body is a relic
But the soul is where it’s at, in fact the new black velvet
Forget what you know, put your hands to the ceiling
Like I’m so post-modern my feelings have feelings
Living in a fantasy world living fancy
Pearls got us strung out on vanity – Girls,
It’s like insanity’s the rule, peace the exception
So I’m feasting on a diet of gruel and resurrection
Hyperbole the tool to wake you from the daydream
Genius is a fool and real rap is mainstream
Death is rebirth, but I’d have to kill you to prove it
‘Cuz life really starts when you lose it (gotta lose it)
(Sintax on “Death is Real”)
Musically, the beats are all very solid. There’s a lot of variety in the sampling and a lot of depth in the layering of sounds throughout the beats. Production was handled by JustMe himself and I’d venture to argue that he outdid all the beats on his first solo record One Man’s Trash by a fairly wide margin on this EP (which I found a little strange – but I guess we can chalk it up to growing experience as a producer). The beats aren’t tiring or annoying as beats can often be, and they generally pulse with a kind of chill and meditative vibe that can actually really permeate the skull and get caught up in it – or, in other words, they can get stuck in your head. That’s always a good thing where rap beats are concerned.
It began on the wrong side of the tracks:
Lack the art of facts, and lack the art of laughter,
Exactly what I’m after – Not knowing, not showing
The signs of a grand design.
Find a fine rhyme in the silence like a pantomime
And to find letting my actions speak louder,
‘Til factions of doubters
Get crushed into powder (and raised again)
It’s called ‘grace’, my friend!
(JustMe on “Rough Crossing”)
All in all, this is a really fly EP – there’s a lot of great moments and the variety of back-and-forth, verse-and-bar trading that JustMe and Sintax supply throughout the disc gives it a lot of gumption as well as uniqueness. Many lesser joint EP’s just have emcees trading off verses and maybe singing the chorus together, so it was great to see some new variations on old ideas.
Bottom line, it left me wanting more – maybe a lot of it. This is a testament to the quality and ability of these emcees, as well as to their ability to give hearers a unified conversation-slash-monologue to take part in and/or be in awe of. Both emcees bring their ‘A’ game, and this means that Merciless isn’t your usual second-rate afterthought EP, but instead an example of two artists coming together with one purpose and one vision to share one message in an impactful manner. It’s everything a rap EP should be.
Here’s a closing thought, on the topic of the mysterious co-existence of Justice/Wrath and Grace/Mercy as attributes of God in Christ, given from His perspective:
Every last breath makes reality true,
I’m unabashed in the way I feel love for you
‘Cuz I dashed everything to make your soul renew
I was merciless the way I showed mercy to you
(Sintax on “Merciless”)
JustMe and Sintax the Terrific are merciless in the best imaginable way on Merciless. Cop it.
4 mercies out of 5.
Standout Tracks: Saturation Point, Compound Interest, Death Is Real, Merciless.
Jerry Bolton – for The Phantom Tollbooth.
November 14, 2008
…put the drum beat back in my heart
03 years ago
Title: Daylight Is Coming
Artist: Remedy Drive
Label: Word Records
Length: 11 Tracks / 34:40
If there’s one thing this world has a shortage of, it’s piano pop-rock bands – specifically, good ones. For all the Switchfoots and Coldplays out there, there’s 100 million other bands I won’t dignify by naming who fill radio airwaves with the most inane drivel. Remedy Drive is, for lack of a simpler way to introduce them, none of the above… exactly. Remedy Drive is more like what happens when you pump your stereo so full of the aforementioned Coldplay and Switchfoot that it starts to pour out this kind of gelatinous, filial harmony.
All of which is to say… it takes something special to be an unsigned, independent band for ten years. This is what Remedy Drive did, mostly under the name “Remedy”, and prior to that, “The Aslan Band”. Blessedly, they tagged a “Drive” on the end of “Remedy” and avoided future confusion as a David Crowder Band record. I’m not even gonna touch “The Aslan Band”… yikes.
Remedy Drive is four brothers. They harmonize well. They play their instruments well. The brother who does lead vocals sounds like a rather direct cross between Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman. Quite direct. In fact, when I first heard Remedy Drive, my immediate thought was that it must be a Switchfoot side-project (not that Jon Foreman doesn’t have his hands full). I was surprised to learn that no, it wasn’t Switchfoot and no, it wasn’t Coldplay either. I was intrigued.
I went from intrigued to quite interested when I found out that their final independently released disc, 2006′s Rip Open The Skies sold over 20,000 copies.
Daylight Is Coming is Remedy Drive’s first album as a signed band. It shows. The production is clean and doesn’t get much in the way of the sound, the harmonies, the essence of what they were up to. Thus, they avoided the “first-time we have a budget” blues which are known to be caused by over-production and losing your vocals and instruments in 800 pounds of sonic effects. Put more simply, the production is clean, fitting, and draws attention to all the bright and enjoyable moments the record has to offer.
Musically, Remedy Drive is about what you’d expect from a genetic mishmash of Coldplay and Switchfoot: lovely piano, lovely singing, and best of all, lovely harmonies that are made all the more glistening because of the foursome’s family ties – they all have similar voices, so uniting them results in the kind of harmonious cascade that only genetics can produce. It’s a beautiful thing, and because they couple it with ten years of songwriting experience, it has plenty of opportunity to shine.
The only real downside to the record is lyrical.
First, the positive: the lyrics are hope-permeated, uplifting, and center around the ideas of rebirth, salvation, and regeneration (a stark example is the stellar track “Heartbeat”).
Second, the criticism: There’s not a lot of lyrics – many of the songs have fewer than 15 lines, most of which are short lines. That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, however one of the challenges which that kind of approach poses is that you need to say a lot, meaningfully, in just a little space. I didn’t really feel that they were up to that challenge, and I felt as though the lyrics were very straightforward, and at times they seemed very much like I had heard them somewhere before (cliché, perhaps?).
Try this on for size:
All of my castles in the sand – washed away again
And I’m left back where I began tonight
The only thing that can ever fill me up
Has been right in front of me all the time
(from “All Along”)
In the same vein, quite a few of the songs clock in at under 3 minutes… consequently the 11-song album clocks in at just over 30 minutes – quite short even by pop-rock standards. By means of comparison, Coldplay’s recent and critically acclaimed 11-track Viva La Vida came in at 50 minutes and Switchfoot’s latest, Oh, Gravity, clocked in at 12 tracks and 45 minutes of playtime. Put in contrast like that, and taking into account the shortness of the lyrics, it’s hard to miss. You really begin to notice that the songs are mostly chorus (generally a fault of dodgy pop-rock) and that they’re over just when you’re starting to feel them.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, the best song on the record is “Heartbeat”, which sports the longest verses as well as (in my opinion) the best writing on the album. Further, it captures Remedy Drive at their strongest… the album is full of vagueries and generic talk, and when the lyrics really develop there’s actually a lot to chew on; it just doesn’t happen often enough. It also has a really great refrain involving some “oh oh oh” back-and-forth harmonizing-slash-chanting that really hits the spot.
So, what can I say? Musically, Remedy Drive hit the jackpot. Although they sport a tonne of feel-good Switchfoot and Coldplay likeness, those bands are rightfully acclaimed for their excellence and so to be compared to them is definitely a strength and not a weakness. The music is crisp, sharp, clean, clear, harmonious, and masterfully executed. The lyrical content is minimalist and often falls short of really developing the ideas and the themes of the record. That said, when they really apply themselves, the lyrics are more than just listenable, they’re excellent.
If this was Remedy Drive’s debut, I’d be saying they’re full of promise and heading in the right direction.
However, since they’re old indie stalwarts, my advice is this:
Invest more time in writing your lyrics and developing your songs so that they’re not all over before they begin and aren’t mostly chorus. Your music, harmonies, instrumentation, and production all hit the mark, but your content is sorely lacking. Man up and write us a remarkable, meaningful, and well-thought-out sophomore label record and we’ll crown you part of the pop-rock trifecta.
By way of conclusion, I submit this to you, dear reader: This is a great album. My wife LOVES this album. It’s a dissapointing album, when I consider the potential the band has to deliver something downright PERFECT… but it’s great nonetheless. If you’re into pop and rock and you’re a big fan of Switchfoot and Coldplay and singing along with wonderful harmonies and great instrumentation… you’ll really, really dig Daylight Is Coming. Get it, love it, and join me in hoping that they hone their text-crafting skills and beef up their quantity for the next go ’round.
3.5 drum beats out of 5.
Standout Tracks: Heartbeat, Something Made To Last.
Jerry Bolton – for The Phantom Tollbooth.
November 2, 2008
…appealing to the curb and the noggin’
03 years ago
Title: Curb Appeal
Artist: Sintax.the.Terrific
Label: Illect Recordings
Length: 18 Tracks / 69:37
You choose to use the broken and abused soft-spoken misfit to open your good news.
(from “Broke Toys (An Anti-Intro)”)
Curb Appeal is the sophomore outing by founding Deepspace5 member Sintax the Terrific, who when not rapping is known as Ryan Seacrest. Prior to this recording he could be found spittin’ rhymes on Deepspace5′s The Night We Called It A Day (2001, Uprok Records) and Unique, Just Like Everyone Else (2005, Gotee Records) as well as his debut record Simple Moves (2004, Illect Recordings) and a bevy of guest spots on conscious hip-hop records. Before all of that, he got his start in the late 90′s with underground crew The Pride. My first encounter with Sintax was on Mars Ill’s 2001 epic Raw Material where he had a couple guest spots.
With few if any exceptions, his stuff is always well-received for its honesty, wit, and unashamed proclamation of spiritual truth – be it troubling and convicting or just lighthearted and touching. Sintax has a way with words, and a noticeable love for life, hip-hop culture, and most of all Christ. All of these things come through loud and clear on Curb Appeal – there’s just so many incredible and well-worded thoughts permeating this disc that it’s all but impossible to do it justice unless I quote from it pretty extensively:
I’m the Ryan Seacrest of this rap game, no shame
In my dep gel, making pop idols look lame
Bring revival, not fame – I’m Billy Graham plus Busta
Rhymes, spit theology in double time structure
Sike! I hate double time, I only spit traditional
Boom bap, KRS-One type material
(from “Moonlighting)
Sintax has a way of weaving insight and challenge throughout his lyrics that I find particularly impactful. One of the closing tracks on Curb Appeal is called “Make Believe” and the first time I listened through it closely, I was in tears. Here’s the chorus as a sample:
You make me believe it’s not make believe
Fill in all the gaps that I can’t conceive
Break a skeptic down to his basic need
To put a finger in the wrist where salvation bleeds
You make me believe it’s not make believe
I’m breath taken by your sacred mysteries
Take me to the root of that ancient tree
Where knowledge is the fruit that only faith can see
(from “Make Believe”)
All throughout the song, the interplay between the idiom “make believe” and the injunctive idea of being made to believe goes back and forth, to the point where Sintax has encapsulated an often complicated spiritual concept – the idea of faith – in an easy to remember and repeat statement. Namely, the re-casting of the idiom “make believe”. It’s brilliant, and I hope it serves as a clue as to what kind of calibre of rapper we’re dealing with on Curb Appeal.
Sintax is a father, a husband, and an all-around normal guy who loves Jesus Christ. He’s also a bona-fide premium rap-artist wordsmith who can tangle flows with the best of them. He keeps the heavy and yet very accessable content of the album from becoming dark or overbearing by putting his eldest son Jackson (who’s about 2.5 years old) to extremely touching use. Jackson appears a few times on the album, in one place he’s recording himself trying to sound cool like his dad (“Yo”) and thus delightfully trying to rap and beatbox. In another spot, he introduces the Christmas-tinged song “Immanuel” by attempting to sing the old classic carol “Hark The Harold Angels Sing”. It’s a poignant moment designed to ease the listener into the right frame of mind before the song beats them over the head with the wonder and glory of the thought that the Creator God would humble Himself to come as an infant and ultimately as the Savior. Here’s one particularly brilliant moment in the song:
Oh! Bethlehem, your sky was so thin
Didn’t even try to hide the Hope within
Heavens open wide to let the oceans swim
“Peace on Earth” spoke the Golden Rim
of angels found a few of life’s broken men
To show the rest of us how to behold a gem
Go and tell the Word that’s now life and limb
That Immanuel will grow to throw the yoke of sin
Hope can’t choke the well of grace we’re soaking in
Nor provoke the Son of Man to turn stone bread-thin
(from “Immanuel”)
Musically, the album is what I like to call a “slow burner”. It grows on you. Some beats will grab you right away, while others will take repeated listens and maybe even a month or two. Trust me though, they’re all keepers. The sound runs a gamut from laid-back (“Hurricane Crush”, “Soul Weep”) to the very intentionally boom-bap (“Falcon Plume”, “Showstopper”) and most places in-between. There’s a lot of horns, guitars, and minimalist synths. It’s not a very complex sound, but the choice to take that direction seems intentional, and it serves to accentuate the lyrical content quite well. A couple of the beats made me drop my jaw a bit (“Soul Weep”, and “Moonlighting”), but for the most part they take a pleasant backseat and avoid getting in the way (something that both incredible and awful beats can do). All in all, the record has a cohesive sound despite a handful of producers, likely due to the pedigree involved; Production was handled primarily by DJ Ryval and Sivion, with Fred B, Playdough, JustMe, Beat Rabbi, and Kurfu contributing as well.
I write the raps that make kids dream in colors
Where whites and blacks are brothers from different baby mothers
I write the raps that make people better lovers
Not between the sheets, but with the God that they discover
I write raps cuz a Terminator X scratch
Made my heart skip a beat my breath couldn’t catch
I write raps cuz I love to hear the snare snap
To let the bass drum know exactly where the fun’s at
Plus writing raps is safer than gun clap
I’d rather talk smack than trade shots you can’t retract
And that’s a fact, rap is better than flowers
To shower you with sun spun from the night the light devours
I write for hours so that you can really know me
Every word I write is like a long lost friend who left me lonely
Christ the only path to righteousness before me
I write raps to tell His story
(from “Showstopper)
If I had to level criticisms against Curb Appeal, the first and most natural thing to say is that it’s way too short. Unfortunately for me, it’s 18 tracks long, only two of which are “filler”. In other words, it’s already plenty long, and clocks in over an hour. I just want more Sintax – so I ordered his first record. It hasn’t arrived yet.
If it wasn’t clear by now, I love Curb Appeal. It’s full of groove and poignance, full of heart and meditation, and best of all… full of challenges. It’s full of Sintax taking every ounce of himself and recording it in the hope that those who listen would come to know Christ or to follow Him more closely.
Curb Appeal is something I worship to, something I think to, something I live to.
Curb Appeal deserves your attention. A very worthwhile (terrific?) sophomore effort from Deepspace5′s Sintax The Terrific.
As a way of closing, I’ll share the album’s inscription, taken from the Biblical book of Amos:
Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
But let justice run down like water,
and righteousness like a mighty stream.
(Amos 5:23-24)
Curb Appeal reveals that Sintax has his priorities straight, and the music to back it up.
Five Deep-spaces out of Five. (YES!)
Standout Tracks: Hurricane Crush, Immanuel, Moonlighting, Soul Weep, Make Believe.
Jerry Bolton – for The Phantom Tollbooth.
October 22, 2008
…boost all my stats
13 years ago
Title: For the Love of the Game
Artist: Pillar
Label: Sony BMG Home Entertainment & Essential Records
Length: 17 Tracks / 58:02
Before I begin, let me first clear the air. I haven’t heard Pillar’s entire back-catalog, nor have I thought much of them to this point.
I thought Pillar’s first record, 2000′s Above, was awful – trite, cliché, formulaic, riding the rapcore bandwagon (poorly), and chock-full of boring music and decidedly sunday-school lyrics. I wrote them off, and to be honest I was surprised that they not only survived that first record, but managed to put out a listenable and marketable sophomore product in 2002′s Fireproof. Fireproof wasn’t anything too spectacular, but it was a night-and-day improvement – engaging, slightly less predictable, and the lyrical content actually contained some decidedly less regrettable songwriting. Particularly once they had the album re-mixed and remastered in 2003, I enjoyed it. For the most part my exposure to Pillar has been minimal since, other than hearing snatches of 2004′s Where Do We Go From Here. I haven’t heard any of their EP’s (which they started to release inbetween albums following Fireproof), and I haven’t heard their 2006 effort The Reckoning.
So, with that as my background of exposure to Pillar, I must report that their new record, entitled For The Love Of The Game, to my mostly uninitiated ears, sounds like a lot of other bands right now. Specifically, it sounds like a lot of other bands whose genres are dying or dead. In this case, Pillar started out as rapcore, segued into nu-metal, and now that both genres are dead they are trying their hands at the same kind of “rock and roll” that a lot of other bands in similar situations have been lately. The best example to reference would be Linkin Park, who recently abandoned their rapcore/nu-metal roots in favour of a similar rock sound on their recent 2007 outing Minutes To Midnight (with similar results). As a side, sometimes it sounds inescapably like Pillar’s Rob Beckley is channelling Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, particularly when yelling.
What you have here, basically, is a rock album. Nothing too fancy, written to appeal both to those who like their music “Christian” and to those who like their music suitable for play at the local sports venue. Lyrically, Pillar isn’t particularly preachy, and their lyrics aren’t even remotely what we saw back on Above. Indeed, I found them enjoyable as a whole, if not particularly challenging or thought-provoking. A notable would be the second track, entitled “Turn It Up” – a failed experiment in trying to fridge-magnet lyrics together out of the names of notable albums and songs from Christian music history. The fun and/or depressing thing about it was identifying each reference offhand. As an example:
I’m drawing a black line
Define the great line
Maybe I just feel so alive
It’s a super good feeling
So I’ll keep waiting
(from “Turn It Up”)
(If you recognized album titles by Project 86 and Underoath as well as song titles by P.O.D., Bleach, and Stavesacre in there, you get bonus points.)
So, while I admire Pillar for referencing some of the great musical juggernauts of the past 15 years all in half a verse here, the song comes off as filler… ie. “we couldn’t write anything good so here’s something we spent 15 minutes throwing together”. Can’t say as much for the music – the track is one of the more enjoyable on the album – and maybe that captures my response to For The Love Of The Game as a whole: mixed feelings.
This is fairly run of the mill alternative radio-rock music: at times anthemic, at times touchy-feely, and between lyrical and sonic content… pretty consistently less-than-challenging. Just like the aforementioned Linkin Park album.
If you’re a big Pillar fan, you’re probably already in love with The Game. If not, you might want to look elsewhere to satiate your alternative rock needs.
Two Team Flags out of Five.
Standout Tracks: For The Love Of The Game, Throw Down, Forever Starts Now.
Jerry Bolton
08/17/08
…intra-venus
03 years ago
Title: The IV Edition
Artist: Braille
Label: Syntax Records
Length: 17 Tracks / 58:02
It’s been a long road, driven by purpose / and I know, I know, I know that it’s worth it.
(from “Calculated Risk”)
I was first introduced to Brian Winchester a.k.a. “Braille” back in the hallowed days of the late nineties and early 2000′s – the days of the original mp3.com, 56k modems, and a noticeable explosion in quality positive, underground, Christian hip-hop. Many names that are now revered were first heard during that time, names like Mars Ill, Deepspace5, Tunnel Rats, and Grits. For me personally, I’ve always numbered Braille amidst those top-notch groups and artists.
It’s been a long time since then, and a lot has changed – not only in hip-hop, but in the music industry as a whole. However, even as the industry and the art forms involved in bringing music to the masses have changed and evolved, some things have remained constant. Braille is an example of this constancy and stability. The IV Edition, released in April on Syntax Records, is Braille’s 4th solo record. His past records, 1999′s Lifefirst: Half the Battle, 2004′s Shades of Gray, and 2006′s Box of Rhymes, are all textbook examples of positive hip-hop done right. Even better, sitting and listening through them from beginning (Lifefirst) to end (The IV) reveals what is perhaps the most secure and constant element of Braille’s work: Progress. Braille is dedicated to improving not only in his life, but in every facet of his music.
Practically, this manifests itself in many ways on The IV Edition; which in its name refers to four related ideas. First, the idea of an IV that distributes “musical medicine for social illnesses directly into the veins of society”. Second, the idea of “International Vision” – improving our global awareness and activity. Third, the idea of an “International Version” (referencing the international audience as well as the international crew involved in producing the record). Fourth, the number four (this is, after all, Braille’s fourth record). With IV, More than on any other outing (including his group work with Return to Sender, Acts29, and Lightheaded), Braille demonstrates an unapologetic commitment to pushing himself lyrically, stylistically, and even in terms of the kind of production he acquired for this record.
Let’s start with the music: Every beat on the record comes from a different producer, including such notables as Ohmega Watts, Marco Polo, DJ Spinna, and Kno. I’m always wary of records that have a multitude of producers (much less a record where every track has a different one), and for good cause: they tend to suffer incredibly from a lack of continuity of sound. There are times when The IV Edition falls prey to this, but for the most part it holds its own… in part I suspect due to the pedigree of the producers. Generally, the sound of the record is rather large: street beats, plenty of turntablism, tastefully implemented cuts that add to tracks rather than detracting, gobs of deep bass, etc. Overall, the sound is punctuated and diverse without being overbearing, and ultimately quite accessible. Musically, this is the hip-hop you throw on to chill to, to rock to, and maybe even to dance to just a little bit. Even better, this is the hip-hop you don’t mind sharing with your fam because it’s clean without being childish, fun without being absurd or unimportant, and most importantly challenging.
‘Lyricism don’t sell no more’, that’s what they say, but I just ignore it: I won’t forfeit…
(from “The IV”)
The challenge is in the lyrics. Braille has always been a talented lyricist, and has certainly taken things to another level with this disc – but, in being consistent with himself and his progression, Braille brings the same approach to textual content he always has. For those unfamiliar with Braille, that approach is to weave truth and insight and thoughts throughout what can only be described as the story of his life. Braille’s lyrics don’t read like a story though, it’s more that his way of presenting is very relatable and down to earth. Braille is a normal guy with a marriage, children, problems, failures, victories, and all the rest of it that we all live on the daily. This is a major feature of his writing – normal stuff, and it’s in this normal stuff and through it that he relays his observations from living, and the lessons he’s learned and wants to share. As a result, although he’s certainly underground, his lyrics aren’t overwhelmingly cerebral (you won’t have to bust out the dictionary or wikipedia to figure out what he’s talking about), but neither are they the banal testosterone frenzy we’d find on your typical radio rap single. For those who prefer tongue-twisting mind-bending wordplay in their hip-hop (and I’m admittedly in this camp most of the time), this isn’t really what you’ll find on The IV Edition, but that’s not to say that Braille is anything less than challenging. Part of what makes his lyrics connect and knock you over sometimes is precisely that they are so immediately relatable. This has always been a strength for Braille, and on this record it really shines. Particularly, it shines on The IV Edition because Braille has been through a lot lately, as since Box of Rhymes he’s both experienced the joy of becoming and being a father and the pain and struggle of losing one (Braille’s father died while the album was being recorded).
There’s a handful guest rappers on the record, many of whom have shared time with Braille on previous releases. Namely, you’ll find folks like Manchild from Mars Ill, Speech, Mr J from The Procussions, Poems from LA Symphony, DJ Bombay, Theory Hazit, DJ Idull, and a couple appearances by Rob Swift. All of the guests hold their own, and for the most part they fit really well into the tapestry of the disc and the overall direction of each song.
Overall, this is a great album that showcases the progress Braille has continued to make throughout his career. The myriad of producers fork over a heaping helping of great beats, the guest rappers come with a lot of heat, and most of all, Braille shares himself with us once again… and once again, it’s a blessing.
The IV Edition is difficult. It’s certainly not perfect – the plethora of producers do hand us a couple of dud beats, some of the hooks are kind of annoying (I’m thinking primarily of “Main Squeeze”, but that may just be because I was really never into James Brown!), and of course, there’s plenty of room here for improvement. However, Braille’s made my job easy because in the closing moments of the record he says the following:
And to all the critics: You don’t gotta give this a perfect score. On a scale of 1 to 5, maybe call it a four. You know, ‘cuz it’s IV. I mean it’d be appropriate, it’s kinda like you’d be giving in to the wordplay, plus it gives me room to keep growin’. If you think it’s lower, I mean… that’s on you. I ain’t gonna argue. Everybody’s got their own opinion.
(from “ADDvice”)
…I’m inclined to give in to the wordplay.
IV out of V.
Standout Tracks: Calculated Risk, The IV, Counter Attack, Mental Guards (Snitch Blade), Get It Right.
Jerry Bolton
06/20/08
…noctournal beats in my headphones now
04 years ago
Title: Night Owls 4: A Shot In The Dark
Artist: Various
Label: Syntax Records
Length: 20 Tracks / 69:57
This is what compilation records should be.
For somewhere closing in on a decade now, Syntax Records has made a name for themselves by becoming synonymous with positive, quality underground hiphop. The Night Owls series of compilations is in many ways their showcase piece: collections of tracks recorded specifically for these compilation by members of
Syntax’s label roster as well as other significant members of the underground hiphop community.
Night Owls 4, the fourth (surprise!) in the series, consists of twenty songs, only one of which might be called an “interlude”, and it’s a very excellent DJ cut. Thirty (plus) emcees, showcasing most of Syntax Records’ roster (ie. Braille, Kaboose, RedCloud, Man of War), but also a handful of other non-Syntax talent such as Manchild from Mars Ill, Listener from Deepspace 5, and CookBook & UNO Mas of L.A. Symphony. Top it off with a handful of DJ’s and producers and you have a recipe for greatness.
Reviewing compilation records such as this one is difficult for one primary reason: the variety. There’s no one emcee rapping on every track, nor is there one producer behind the boards, nor one DJ scratching up a storm. Rather, you have a multiplicity of all of the above.
So first, some generalizations about the entire album:
The recipe works – Night Owls 4 is excellent. Every track on the album is exclusive to it and you won’t see them anywhere else. This is not a collection of songs from albums you might already own, nor is it a bunch of second rate b-sides or demos. This is a collection of rap songs from some of the positive underground hiphop community’s best, many of whom are at the top of their game right this moment. Additionally, Night Owls 4 boasts a variety of producers on the record, which ensures a wide variety of sounds. Consistently, regardless of style, the beats are on point.
So, now that I’ve told you that the compilation is great, here are some of my more pointed thoughts:
- Some of the tracks are quite a bit better than others. My own preferences are listed below.
- It’s great to see the return of old-school supercrew “thePride” (Recon and Sintaxtheterrific from Deepspace 5, and Manchild from Mars ILL). I don’t think they’ve done a new track since 2001′s On Def Ears). They absolutely nail their track.
- I’ve never been much of a RedCloud fan, but his track “21 Jump Street” converted me all by itself.
- Listener’s track “Older Than I Was Before” features some of the best socio/religio-political commentary I’ve heard in a rap song in quite some time.
- The choir samples on Cookbook & UnoMas’ track “Always Shine” win for best-in-album and makes for an incredible beat.
Four deep bass beats out of five.
Standout Tracks: For You, Always Shine, We Will Not Stop, Knuckle Up, Older Than I Was, Test Market, 21 Jump Street.
Jerry Bolton
01/16/08
…without form
04 years ago
Title: Formless
Artist: Shane Newville
Label: Syntax Records
Length: 17 Tracks / 70:25
First, a little background. Shane Newville is an in-house producer for Syntax Records who has his fingerprints all over some of their more recent releases. He’s a graduate of the SAE Institute, where he went on the Mackie scholarship (which is apparently very exclusive). This is his first official self-representative effort, though apparently he has been sending demos into Syntax for years now.
After spending some quality time with this, there are a few feelings I can’t shake. The first is that when it’s on, I waver between feeling like I’m in some kind of trippy action movie, or feeling like I should be working harder on my homework. Formless is electronica of various sorts – it goes from Drum’n’bass to Ambient/Minimalist to House and back. So I must credit it for its diversity. Shane cites The Chemical Brothers and Prodigy as past inspirations, though after listening through the record I suspect Aphex Twin is in there somewhere too. Fans of those artists or of electronic music in general are in for a treat – there’s a lot here to like. Of the 17 tracks only a few are lackluster, and the songs that rise above the rest are truly incredible.
Shane’s experience as a mixer and producer is what stands out the most to me about this record. Taking his experience behind the boards to his own project, Formless all but shimmers from the mixing and mastering expertise that’s been slathered all over it. If the listener sets their like or dislike of electronic music aside and throws some headphones on, it won’t take long to find a lot to enjoy. There are subtleties that a casual listen won’t pick up, and they number far more than the average well-produced record.
In the end, Formless is an interesting debut that shows a lot of potential. It won’t surprise me in the least to hear some of these songs in movies and videogames before long, and the production levels are top notch. My only really tangible complaint is that in the end the record feels too long, with some ambient tracks that feel drawn out (“Beautiful & Perfect”), and a few more upbeat cuts that end up being little more than annoying due to poor choice in an oft-repeated sample (“Apartment Break 3000”).
Three sequenced samples out of five.
Standout Tracks: Unseen Supernatural War, Kickflip, Samurai Showdown, Experiment X.
Jerry Bolton
12/14/07