I'm
not going to lie: I knew next to nothing about this dude going into
this one, so this album's place within the context of his career is
totally lost on me. At first listen, though, it reminds me a little
of Scroobius Pip, electronic beats and intelligent (though
occasionally dense) narrative-based lyrics hidden behind the veneer
of a British accent. Regardless of the topic, the whole thing just
feels happy and upbeat, even when I know that isn't the feeling that
I should be getting. The only song that I actually did not like was
'Roof of Your Car,' which featured computerized, annoyingly high
pitched samples of female voices, and was overly repetitive while
riding atop a truly generic beat, not good, not bad, just sort of
there. Although each of these aspects present themselves elsewhere
throughout the album (particularly the unremarkable beats), when they
are all mashed up together in one song, I found myself counting down
until it was over. I'm practically drooling at the thought of someone
like DJ Shadow taking over the production here. Nothing over the top,
just something more than a three layer loop and some voice samples.
Despite all the negativity going on here, I did have a good time
while listening. 'ABC' has him flipping the alphabet on its head,
ending as quickly as it started and sending me whip-lashed into the
next track. 'Trying to Kill M.E.' is a fun (albeit slightly
depressing) look into the mind of the artist. The occasional sung
verse breaks up the usual verse-chorus-verse flow of the album, and
provides good variation without getting stale. It's been a decent
listen, overall, and the lyrics and style more than make up for any
other grievances I might have.
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