Underground Fossils was an indie rap focused blog run by myself (Dimxsk) and by Trylemma, who passed August 3rd, 2024 from liver failure of unknown origin at the age of 34. We mostly posted week or twice weekly, the bulk of which were rare rips we made, found on old blogs, he acquired through his insanely broad connection to the scene, etc. We did all we could to make sure we didn't post stuff that (1) You could still reasonably buy from the artist directly, (2) You could reasonably buy secondhand for cheap, (3) You could download easily elsewhere, (4) The artist(s) asked us not to for any reason.
Being involved in this blog was some of the most fun I ever had, even if at times it was time consuming, challenging or intimidating (having a readership). It was the product of one of the best friendships I've ever had. If I could say one last thing, it's to encourage all of you: if you have the time and desire, make your own UGF. Find a friend who loves this shit like you do and build it together. It will bring you incredible joy, enhance your connection to this amazing community, and change your life in unexpected and exciting ways. I know it did mine. Love you all!
I don't often do this, but it's been a really long time since I've personally done a review post and I'm finding myself especially excited about this one. Lately it's been difficult to find the time to really sit and absorb a solid hip hop album, hence the brevity of what I've been uploading and the lack of commentary on the music itself. But I wanted to go into Decuma's mind blowing trip that is Feeding the World Serpent because it really is that noteworthy, and full disclosure I haven't even finished it yet.
This album sounds nothing at all like anything else out there. It sort of straddles the line between spoken word and straight up hip hop, utilizing unconventional rhyme schemes,completely bonkers time signatures (no you won't be nodding to this anytime soon), impossible to predict composition and beatmaking, left field songwriting, cinematic orchestral sample choices crossed with Nine Inch Nails-esque discordant distortion and notably for such an abstract offering, very clever and moving lyrics.
I don't know how I originally stumbled onto this album or this artist, but I do know that weird (scratch that, EXTRAORDINARY) emcee and producer Th' Mole was kind enough to point us in Decuma's direction which gave me the impetus to actually give it a listen. He is just as stoked about it as I am, and I really wanted to spread the word as much as our humble little corner of the internet is capable of.
From the beginning this album sounds like a complete sonic clusterfuck. But be patient! The feeling of drowning in noise will ebb away as Decuma masterfully transitions the flow from field recording type spoken word pieces to straight up (well sort of) hip hop music in such a way that you won't even notice the change. That said, when they want you to notice it you will. I guess what I'm trying to say is the true genius of this album is how random and chaotic it seems right up until you realize how purposeful every note and line actually is. Take that odd percussive triangle in "An Empty Sky, a Bank of Fog". Oh wait, it's a bullet casing hitting the floor, and you're feeling it hard as you watch a young woman bleed to death as the crowd watches, indifferent.
Decuma has so much to say on topics like race, politics, growing up, spirituality... the only complaint I have, and it comes with a suggestion as well, is that it's often a struggle to make out the words. Plus I'm almost forty and my ears ain't the best anymore. Which also reminds me, this dude is 21 (!) years old and displays a mastery over music that some thirty year olds are falling short of. Anyway, for that reason and that the production is just so genius and subtle, I HIGHLY recommend this album be listened to on headphones, preferably with as little disruption from the outside world as possible. I only was able to do that a bit today, but it made all the difference.
This album is a difficult one, but another thing I find so great about it is how unashamedly art rap it is without ever seeming pretentious or deliberately unlistenable. I really think a lot of different folks could grow to like this with the proper time and effort. But that really remains to be seen. Just give it a shot, if nothing else you will agree, shit is one of a kind!
Just be cool and listen toFeeding the World Serpent... please?
Well, I figured it's been a while since I did a review post and I managed to unearth an album I bet most of you (outside the Francophone world at least) were probably sleeping on, so here goes...
Andrre is one of my favorite rappers. He has one of the most interesting voices in indie rap, bursting with personality and subtle coolness. I always come away from an Andrre tune feeling like I just heard the unfortunate but ultimately uplifting life story of the Canadian badass sitting with me at the bar. I've never thought anyone could truly hate this guys music, he's just got so many perfect songs. Take "Big Jet Plane (Zoen Remix)", a gorgeous re-imagining of the Angus and Julia Stone tune. Or "The Fades", a Degiheugi produced, piano driven masterpiece that literally gives me chills every time I hear it. (I found out where the sample comes from, and it's truly unbelievable. One of the most genius uses of a sample I've ever heard.).
All that said, I realize that like me many of his English speaking listeners are probably not aware of his work with X-Ray Records and the resulting EP here. I stumbled onto it after really falling in love with Degiheugi's production (basically ever since hearing "Keeping the Memory Alive" which has one of my favorite beats of all time I believe) and I don't know if it was ever promoted to his hip hop listeners or posted to any Bandcamp account.
So let me be the first to break the great news! Lac Noir is the first Andrre release since the excellent 2019 EP Dichotomie out on French label Dora Dorovich, and for those of us in the know it's been a long wait. I don't have much to say about this little EP, mostly I was just excited to find it and share it with everyone who might have missed it. Most important to mention is that Andrre has moved away from rap driven tunes. This is essentially a collection of indie folk songs, but this Beatles / Radical Face-esque offering brings with it all of his emotional turmoil, playful innocence and fearless self exploration in the form of his poetry and melodies. It is very very good, while also very very short.
You can pick it up from iTunes, or stream the whole thing here on YouTube. I'm so used to linking to Bandcamp it feels incomplete not to, but I guess that's it. Hope everyone's staying out of this crazy weather!
Well looks like pictures are working. Unfortunately I like my Chakra poem description of Neila's cover so it's staying up.
Today I have something new and exciting to get the word out on. Meet the Mood Patrol EP. The Southwest's Fang Over Fist Records, another amazing find from Fake Four Inc.'s amazing Freecember deal is proud to release a brand new collaboration between the phenomenal Cecil Tsoh (formerly Whatever Cecil, nka Tsoh Tso), B.Moore on the raps and Lady Quasar on the singing tip.
I was only familiar with Mr. Tsoh at the time of my first listen, but I have to say I really enjoyed this EP (for the record in case you haven't noticed, I basically don't review anything I can't give a fairly positive review on. And if I don't absolutely like something I've agreed to review, I will try very hard to paint it in a positive light without lying or exaggerating. I like to think of these New Music posts as promos as opposed to real 'reviews'. That said, that is not the case here this shit is dope.)and I think you will too. It's easy in this day and age, with the huge volume of random collaborations between hungry indie hip hoppers to dismiss an album when you don't recognize all of the names, but there truly is something magical at work here in the interplay between the singer, the rapper and the producer.
The beats here are simply beautiful. Tsoh Tso has been making noteworthy music ever since popping up circa 2010 with An Illustrated Mess and he has steadily improved. At this point with his sample based production such as we find here, he has perfected his own style of chopping and rearranging songs to form collages of true beauty and substance. These beats exemplify the best kind of sample based production, making use of layering, effects and unorthodox percussion ("New to What's Been Orbiting") to entirely own every note. In fact, I would say these beats are my favorite type of production and were what initially attracted me to hip hop. Hitting hard enough to keep the head nodding while retaining subtlety and mood. If you miss Dark Time Sunshine Vessel era, you're gonna love this.
Lady Quasar is a great choice to keep these songs fresh and unique as well. Again, there are SO many rappers out these days, making so many albums and EPs with their peers. Choosing to recruit a vocalist to provide melodies on every song, especially when the production is so heavily melody driven was an excellent decision. And she is by no means a gimmick or just a pretty voice. Her vocal style is slightly Squalloscope slightly Dilly Dilly, toeing the line between rapping and singing and generally crafting the vibe we hear throughtout the album. Her participation is absolutely necessary for this to work.
Lastly we have B.Moore the rapper. I need to either see a lyric sheet or listen more to this EP to fully grasp the story to each of these songs, but I can tell you B.Moore writes with a good sense of drama, unusual wordplay and a penchant for dark imagery. With repeated listens I am reminded again and again of DTS in their prime with this album, especially because of B.Moore's relentless and fantastical lyrical style. I plan to dive into this more deeply as soon as possible.
Once again Fang Over Fist kills it. My only complaint? Too short! This collaboration is gold, and I think it really would have been great to build up a larger volume of songs before releasing the album. I truly hope, guys, if you read this that you're inspired to flesh this out. Beautiful work!
So I told my dude Tooth that if I did any reviews in the next few weeks I'd give this a shout out. Anyone following UGF knows I've done my best to support the career of this guy and his often companion Dug after hearing their amazing live band EP All in Your Head. Their whimsical / introspective songs consistently hit home for me and I really feel like both of them are basically the kind of people who read this blog and listen to our music, so let's do what we can to support their dreams.
Coming October 8th, we have Happy Tooth's newest album Done Suffering. Basically Happy Tooth has decided that while suffering often produces great art, great art does not require suffering. There's no reason our favorite artists have to experience pain, and emotionally juice themselves into oblivion by age 27. That's essentially the message I get from this. He wants this art to be a good experience for everyone including the artist, and hopes that we can still enjoy what he produces when he's basically doing 'not bad'.
Common themes for a Happy Tooth record of course pop up here as well: the indie rap scene ("Canceled", boom...), day jobs / finances and mental health are of course present and discussed with the same cynical yet heartfelt poetry, but we also hear a bit about getting old. Turning 35 for me was a big eye opener and a bit of a downer and it seems as if he's going through the same thing. It's a universal experience, and discussing it the way he does does even more to bring his music down to the level of the listener, something he really excels at. I guess I'm trying to say it feels like a frank conversation with the guy, unpretentious and honest. Very refreshing.
One thing I wanted to mention, I found the production, entirely handled by Fisk, a bit challenging. I told Happy Tooth that I had preferred his work with Bum Theory or his previous album The Laughter's Rehearsed. It was this discussion that really prompted me to post this, because as I suspected this is the type of production that really requires you to listen carefully, preferably with headphones. In places it's more dependent on rhythm than melody which makes the sound less accessible but actually really works when the listener focuses on the weird use of samples, hats and sidesticks / drum rolls etc. It's very quirky and unusual, and it DID grow on me.
Finally, we see indie vet and genius Ecid dropping a verse, as well as Claud Six fka Lucas Dix and very exciting, Ryan Liptak aka Mild Child one of the humongous talents behind Happy Tooth & Dug gives us some vocal magic and I believe instrumental production as well?
All in all this is a good album, well worth your time and few dollars. On October 8th I hope you will consider clicking here and buying it on the format of your desire. In the meantime you can hear what he's working with as a few singles have been dropped in anticipation.
Well, as I hinted at last week our good friend Th' Mole over at Weird Rap was kind enough to drop us a promo advance of this. I've been needing Estuary in my life ever since I heard Rift (which was a new take on the instrumental / acapella formula essentially, they released those ahead of the album and worked them into spoken word pieces and a beat tape. You can read my review here). Staplemouth's lyricism is IMO some of the best we have these days, and his hiatus from hip hop left a huge hole most folks weren't even aware of. 3 Sunz Eclipse with Nameless Myst was his triumphant return; Estuary is where he grabs a hold of that ring he had in his grasp in 2012 and smashes it to pieces.
I did a fairly extensive and wordy promo post for Rift. So basically I knew what to expect with this one and I was not disappointed. We have here a sort of companion piece to Ruler of Desperate Measures. Dark as hell, chock full of eschatological imagery and hidden meaning with unorthodox production that manages to be simple enough to allow Staplemouth to take center stage with his amazing vocals while also showcasing musicianship and the true ear for composition that Th' Mole's been able to claim since he first dropped out of the sky wearing a super hero outfit (although he's come a long way since that Christmas album).
If you've never heard Staplemouth let me give you a quick rundown on one of my favorite rappers. Coming up in the Oahu scene of Hawaii along with his crew ...of Proliteariots, Staplemouth boasts a voracious appetite for lore and the ability to spin it into rambling and daring looks behind the veil. Not only can he approach subsonic syllabic speed in the blink of an eye (no his recordings are not digitally sped up as everyone who I played "Hanging Gardens 2012" keeps trying to claim. If you want to watch him do it look right here) when you slow down and pick apart what he's saying a truly formidable talent and intelligence emerges. Add to that the ability to balance brute lyrical force with an almost delicate and beautiful vocal range, there is truly no one like this man dead or alive.
As far as this current release, Staplemouth has this to say:
"Estuary to me is about allowing change and learning to exist between
what was and what currently is. My life went from white to black... I'm
the complete opposite of who I once was. But I was able to evolve in
that process. It's about being able to adapt and live in brackish
water... or Estuary."
Like all true art, Staplemouth's poetry does truly lend itself to interpretation through the lens of individual experience. For me the album takes a snapshot of the world in flux, with the pandemic and the reluctant baton passing from the Boomers and the gun crisis in the USA and the war in Europe all creating a sense of uncertainty and barely manageable panic. As he says, we are now struggling with the idea of merging what the world was with what it is now in a way that allows us to thrive and feel safe again, something not easy to do in the post(ish)-Covid era.
I do have the lyrics in a beautiful promotional package, and the following passage from "Wounded Soldier" (a remake of an older song I don't believe was ever released in case it sounds familiar) is a great example of the bleakly beautiful poetry on display with Estuary, and although it is an older work it captures where we are in starkly ugly imagery.
"We make the world a sin • Now • That’s an educated guess • There isn’t like a fountain or tiny button to make it happen type of gadget • But maybe we can hatch it with just a warm thought • Covered by the torn end of a moth-eaten blanket • Don’t pose a threat to the man with a macabre smile • Run amuck in a sacred domicile where the priest dissects a child • Now what the fuck is this planet melting into?"
I really have zero complaints. But in some ways I think the Rift idea should have been released AFTER the official album, although in it's uniqueness I sense at least some courage from Weird Rap and as an indie music fan I value that a lot. But I think if I had never heard these words before, combined as they are with this beautiful music it would have had a very huge impact on me. Such as it is the familiarity was already there although it was cool to finally experience the full blown might that is Estuary.
Watch the above, and then buy Estuary on vinyl or digital or as a tape deal with Rift from Weird Rapover yonder. That's an order, let's make these dudes famous.
When it comes to a vast pool of lyrical talent, superb musicianship, daring weirdness and of course incredibly charming nerdiness, nothing comes close to Canadian super-group Backburner. The taproot from which so many great Canadian acts have flourished, this crew is undoubtedly a staple of underground hip hop and a personal favorite of both myself and Trylemma. A new Backburner album is a thing to be celebrated, and that's why when this quadruple cassette release of all three (official) Backburner albums since Heatwave PLUS a brand new collection of official crew posse cuts compiled and collected for the first time in a single, dope ass tape was first offered I didn't have to think too damn hard.
It helps of course that we have three all new songs featuring the likes of Jorun Bombay and Bleubird. But all in all it's damn cool to be able to collect these tracks and put them in the place they truly belong, considering there's stuff here that predates Heatwave.
As for the new material? "Summer of SARS 2"(the original also appears on the cassette and was a posse cut on an early Thesis Sahib album. Was SARS actually a big deal in Canada? Been a long time since I heard that song) featuring Jayo Smooth is a fantastic track with a great beat and really reminds me again how good Jesse Dangerously is. The Bleubird feature "Us Vs. Them (Them Being You)" was alright, maybe needs a repeat listen as it sounds very demoish to me. And of course Jorun kills it on the cuts for "We All Do". So they're all pretty dope and I'll just say I love the VHS throwback look of this collection. The artwork is also very cool for The Posse Cuts cassette itself and I think the uniqueness of this idea makes owning it worth it. We are talking a true living fossil here because some day these'll be worth a lot of money. To a relatively small group of collectors but whatever.
So go ahead and purchase this Trilogy Cassette collection right about here and make your other nerdcore fan friends hella jealous!
And, I really have to address this. For those of you who aren't living in the US you may not be familiar with the recent tragedy that occurred at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. An 18 year old kid of sound (but truly fucked up) mind decided to gun down 19 children and 2 teachers. The husband of one of these teachers died a few days later, literally of a broken heart. I want to address this here because we have a worldwide platform at UGF and as an American I feel a sense of shame and a desire to explain our country. America likes to portray itself as an example to the rest of the world, but the fact is we can't decide whether we'd rather protect children or play with guns. We can't guarantee most of our society that if they get sick their children won't go bankrupt paying off their debts when they die. We elect morons to high offices despite very credible complaints that they rape children (and no I'm not talking about QAnon idiocy). Hopefully we can do something to ensure this doesn't happen again but the fact is I just don't have any faith anymore. But if you live somewhere with sensible gun laws on the books and you're struggling to understand what the fuck is wrong with us, I'm with you there... Thanks for reading.
Okay, who here has finished Netflix's Ozark? Goddamn I'm trying to write a coherent album post here and I'm just replaying that last scene. I won't ruin it but I hope you've all taken your meds before you hit play on that shit...
Enough about that. This, folks, is BdotJeff. I think it's fair to say it's unlikely you've heard his songs up to now, but if you've followed my posts on Happy Tooth's music you may have heard him drop a verse or two. I was first introduced to his music when he was kind enough to share his second full length Y2K with the blog, and I was fairly quick to judge it just wasn't my cup of tea. That said, my issues with it had much less to do with the talent or creativity he displays, and more to do with a bit of closed mindedness on my part which probably stems from being a mid-30's going on 70's cynic. His work is very strange at times and I just couldn't in the moment get into it. Stylistically it's flashy, colorful and fast paced, kind of an auditory anime if that makes any sense. It's the kind of music that can be easy to dismiss if you're listening with only half an ear as style over substance, but the thing is the substance is absolutely there and you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't give it a chance.
Luckily this dude is persistent. He seems to be very comfortable putting himself out there and waiting for a bite, and I gotta say that more than anything else really started warming me up to what he has to offer. He's been sending us the occasional single and album really only asking for feedback, and as he comes across as a humble, hardworking creative soul I usually do my best to oblige him. So by the time I heard What a Mess I already liked BdotJeff, I just had to make the leap from that to enjoying his music.
But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. And the caffeine is kicking in, so why don't I drop some background knowledge here? BdotJeff is originally from PG County MD but currently working out of Columbus OH (hence the Happy Tooth connection). He's been a musician since way back, starting with church choir and transitioning to poetry writing and rapping over borrowed beats via YouTube. At 13 he was writing and recording his own work, and he took it all the way to college to become a sound engineer (right here I'll say, some of you know I dabbled in music at one point, and audio engineering is hard ass shit, I was horrible at it. So kudos for that.) He's worked with a number of acts, mostly it seems local folks from the Columbus and Maryland scenes.
Specifically though, what made me really take notice of his work with this album in particular can be expressed best through what he told me about it. What a Mess was conceived and birthed during some of the most tumultuous years of his life. Mania powered it and it was driven by personal loss and mistreatment in love. Is it emo though? Absolutely not. Although in places he slows it down and takes to crooning sadly("pkmn sapphire, fair warning"), he never fails to re-liven it up with good old fashioned stole your woman braggadocio ("B.O.S.S."), returning to his rapid fire style raps. In fact, the point of What a Mess is really to show how a person can experience these things in life but keep the fun alive and get to the other side. I was moved when I read this line from him during the "development" of this post:
"I just want the ability to have my music
connect with at least one person that felt or is currently feeling the
way I was when I made this album. Since the development of this project
I've started a better mental health journey and I just want everyone to
know that they can move forward with life even if they're in pain. You
are not alone in feeling alone, and if I can spread that idea to at
least one listener in my music then I'd say i did my job"
-BdotJeff
This album isn't perfect. It's not going down in history as one of the all time great rap releases. At times his rap makes it difficult to understand the lyrics, and sometimes the silliness gets to be a little bit too much. I don't want to oversell it. The thing is I liked this album because of it's DIY sound and the personality that shows through the music. Additionally though, the production is very solid, much of it done by him although he has very good guitar and bass work on the album from Bela Peresta aka Lugosi and Sara Smith respectively as well (also I gotta give the nod to xDiggityDee for their production, JamPOP and Fanaticus for background vocals, Brenton Newman on drums. Other features are credited in the song titles I believe). His singing and songwriting have improved since the last I heard from him. And I really think most importantly, it's evident that at some point he's decided to just be himself and shine on his songs regardless of the outcome, who hears them and what they think. Unlike many artists I actually believe this guy wants nothing more than to make some fun music with his friends to help people forget their problems. If you can honestly say you fault a guy for that, then you might be missing the point of music entirely...
See him making fun music with his friends to help you forget your problems right here with "WHOA!"
Get What a Mess as a digital download or stream it here and support a creative soul as they do what they love!
Agonizing over what to write for my turn on UGF this week I went back over the huge amount of really dope material we've been the lucky recipients of already this year (we as in all of us, not just UGF specifically) and I came upon this email from early January that in a haze of work stress, relationship worries and health problems (no not Covid) I had completely forgotten about. Jonah Mociun aka Th' Mole of Weird Rap was kind enough to offer up an advance listening copy of this one and I've gotta say a full length Staplemouth album of this caliber is exactly what I need right now to deal with all of the above.
For those of you who may only be dimly familiar with Staplemouth, his rap career stretches back decades to ...Of Proliteariots, one of my personal favorite groups of that era and some of the earliest members of the Plague Language Fam. Since then he's been a member of New Cocoon, Tree Dusk Muir, Cane Corso Records and now Pen Thief Records. Basically everything this guy had an influence on was at least at some point pure gold. Not only does he have the most impressive rapid fire lyrical chops I've ever heard (or seen, I love showing folks who claim his recordings are impossible and must've been digitally sped up a video of him rhyming with fellow Kansasians [Kansians? Damn...] The Blos, his voice is powerful and in some ways really beautiful ("Hanging Gardens 2012", Q.E. M.F. D.) and his lyricism is labyrinthine, requiring hours of patient listening to tease out.
I am much less familiar with Th' Mole I have to admit. I love the work he's done on production, and his zany appearance and on stage antics make him one of a kind in no uncertain terms. I have often been interesting in hearing more from him (I pretty much enjoyed his album with Demune and a lot of that was his beat making) but I find his literal mountain of material seriously intimidating and I have no idea where to even begin. I will say I know enough about him to be really excited by the prospect of these two weird rap vets collaborating for the first time.
I did have a chance to listen to Rift all the way through. Initially, and I believe many of you will probably agree, I was disappointed to find out we were getting this schizoid rework of the original songs before the full length project (schizoid as in split). Side A of this tape is Staplemouth's lyrics, Side B is Th' Moles beats although both sides have had modifications made to make them more listenable as seperate entities. I was truly excited to hear this in finished form, but it seems it may be months before we get that opportunity.
BUT. To those of you who feel the way I did, I highly recommend if you're a fan of either of these artists to give this album a listen. You can already hear Staplemouth's contribution on the Weird Rap Bandcamp and it is some of the heaviest, most incredible songwriting he's ever done. As usual he devotes much of his breath to rapid fire meditations on eschatology and other darker spiritual topics, and as usual his gorgeous singing voice finds itself lent to melancholy rhymes, but without the benefit of beats (just some sonic tinkering, sound effects etc.) his words become more stark somehow, easier to understand, and easier to truly empathize with. I feel, maybe I'm wrong, but that much of these lyrics are at their core articulations of a worried father watching what I think we all probably worry is the beginning of the end of the world. And there is probably no one better than Staplemouth to drop such serious topics in a way that keeps the songs both thought provoking and dope AF.
Also, the part that you won't hear until the day of it's release, the production is something else. It was a cool experience to go back and forth and hear what will be the sonic backdrop for these musings and find out how unexpected they actual are in many ways. Th' Mole is a very talented musician, and these beats are intricate, head noddingly dope and progressive to the point that they sound more Danny Carey than Scott La Rock. Heavily layered drums and tripped out, spacy synths make these songs a drum circle on Pluto, and I gotta say I CANNOT wait to hear this album in it's finished form. It promises to be one of the best rap albums of the year.
And real quick, since I have access to the press photos, let's meet the players.
Now, if you find yourself as excited about this as I am, here's a little audio / visual project they put together for the album as well.
Now, I'm not going to say everyone will like Rift. This is not for the casual fans of hip hop. If you think the best indie rap out there is on RSE you're going to want to skip this (no judgement, just don't want to waste anyone's time). Maybe wait for the final offering when these songs finally meet and achieve their true form. But if you're in the mood for something different, something that truly demonstrates the skill of two consummate professionals, and is definitely worth the extra work to pick out the hidden treasures it offers...
Well, Trylemma and myself, along with anyone else who preordered Ceschi's final trilogy of albums on vinyl got a surprise email earlier this week from the man himself. Imagine my surprise when while scrolling through it I realize it contains a download of a completely new unheard collection of songs! No shit right?!
By this point I assume most of you have heard this, and that most of you know what I do at this point. Ceschi really does just keep improving over time. His guitar playing is amazing, his songwriting has matured considerably with every release (especially over the last decade), and what I find most remarkable about this particular collection of songs is that he's managed to blur the lines between folk, punk and rap to such a degree that there is really no way to classify this anymore under any existing genre label.
That said for the most part this is a punk record. In places it's brutal tempo, irreverent go fuck yourself attitude and fast paced guitar make that obvious, in others it's roots are more hidden behind the masterful musicianship and beautiful moments of vulnerability, so unlike the garage thrash antics of the angsty punk rockers of last century.
I call this a punk record for three reasons. One, because Ceschi calls it that on the genre section of the files info, and who am I to argue, two for the structural reasons I state above, and three most of all because it purely embodies the DIY ethic that made punk rock in some ways the only place to find honest rock music at one point in it's history. This Guitar was Stolen Along with Years of Our Lives is the result of a musician needing so badly to say something that they assembled it through blood sweat and tears, without any corrupting influences. Ceschi has always been about that, and it's only been lately that I've seen how very punk that is.
It's interesting to me that at the time this record came out I was slowly reintroducing myself to punk music through the folk punk scene. Get Dead, We the Heathens, Pat the Bunny and related bands, basically everything Bandits Never Die puts out, etc. I never would have bothered if it wasn't for Ceschi and to a lesser extent Sam King fka Lewee Regal and thank you guys. This is a hip hop blog but that doesn't mean we only like hip hop.
So finally, is this a good record. The short answer is yes, the long answer is fuck yes. Basically it combines the maturity and technical skill of Ceschi's split with Pat the Bunny with the genre melding goodness that was Elm Street Sessions and slaps on a layer of professionalism that comes from working with some truly talented individuals (this record seems to have involved more collaboration than either of the other Ceschi guitar driven releases).
I need to give this more time to sink in, but I did think just in case some of you weren't aware that there was a new Ceschi it was worth shouting it out. If you like music you will probably like this. That's it.
Get This Guitar was Stolen Along with Years of Our Lives right here as a pay what you want download because Ceschi really is that cool.
It's crazy to think, but it's been nearly nine years since Oldominion/Grayskul head Onry Ozzborn and super-producer Zavala last formed the Dark Time Sunshine train and gifted us an album (that was 2012's "ANX" if you're keeping score.) Suffice to say, a lot has changed since then - for both the world and the guys themselves. We of course now live in a fully postmodern planet with meme presidents and social distancing galore. Meanwhile, Onry has dealt with his daughter's diagnosis and eventual beating of cancer. I've always found that Dark Time Sunshine projects do a wonderful job in letting the listener transcend whatever state he/she happens to be in at the moment - so now seems like about the perfect time for another go round. Here's an early track by track review of Dark Time Sunshine's new album, "LORE."
1. Lore (Feat. Ceschi): It's become a tradition for Fake Four head honcho Ceschi Ramos to open up Dark Time Sunshine albums. Unlike previous outings, however, Onry accompanies him on mic duties and really sets a sort of 'triumphant return' type mood in proclaiming, "We bringing gully back/We bringing smilin' back, we bringing happy back/We bringing laughing and living a little back/But most of all, we bringing love back, and that's facts." Zavala provides a pretty bare-boned drum track for the guys to flex on, which works pretty well, though I do miss the big Zavala intros that previous DTS albums gave us...
2. Ritalin: Now here's that Zavala production! Multi-layered, atmospheric bliss from the Chicago producer that rarely fails to impress. The song's content, which has been a theme throughout a lot of Onry's work, tackles the struggle of dealing with mental issues ("I am an intricate doubter about myself") while at the same time trying to seek out basic joys in life. Onry also switches up the flows here a bit, giving us a bit of chopping, and gives us our fair dose of bars as well, "FML, FML/Rid myself of these blues like I'm Gargamel."
3. 7 Knots: Things get even deeper lyrically at this point in this ode to learning from the past and loving those close to oneself. Onry has a great way of giving us wordplay that is neither cheap nor too abstract, "I've decided to limbo beneath my own personal purgatory/Although my vantage point at that moment was rock bottom/It taught me how to morph colors and become autumn." The moody earworm electronics from Zavala, especially in the long outro, are gold as well.
4. The Rite Kids (Feat. R.A.P. Ferreira & Homeboy Sandman): Possibly my favorite track on the entire album (which is saying a lot.) Onry enlists RAP Ferreira and Homeboy Sandman, over some really cool retro synths, for his ode to the promising outcast and weirdo kids, with such unique quirks as "Separating they food and never letting it touch before it enters the tummy." The song hits hard especially as Onry has been rapping since the mid-90s, always taking fresh left-field approaches to music-making, and has managed to really carve his own lane despite the fact that...yes, believe it or not kids...indie rap wasn't always cool. "The wrong kids have been always the rite kids, the bright kids." Both guests fully deliver as well. Sandman notes, "Rite kids aren't part of the plan...but plans make God laugh," and Ferreira really ends up being the star of the show, "I write this for the chosen few/Who were told as children to speak when spoken to, and then were never spoken to." Having each rapper come in on the hook is genius too.
5. Star Scream: Here we have a mellowed out bouncy Zavala production, with Onry riding it perfectly. The joint is a humorous take on the constant journey of following fame, money, and trends, "These days everything/Is captured on a screen/Then captioned, turned into a meme." I especially appreciate the funky keys over the hook (hopefully an instrumental version of the album drops soon.)
6. Poor Pavel (Feat. Hail Mary Mallon): So not only are we getting the Onry + Zavala combo, we're getting the Rob Sonic + Aesop Rock combo as well?!? Yes, please. Over a pretty unique jazzy bassy instrumental, our hosts discuss, I believe (things can get murky when these 3 are involved lol,) the daily struggle of living up to one's promise or worth. Rob and Aesop of course bring their A-games. I felt Aesop when he said, "If I'm horizontal, eight hours on a thousand nails/Waking up is more than putting piss into the howling gales."
7. Hell Nah: On this personal track, Onry addresses using others' overcoming of obstacles as his own large inspiration in doing the same. While I'm not 100% sure, and don't want to assume, who the subjects of the song exactly are, it's clear that those close to Onry have made serious moves through the muck and grime in their lives, and it's made an impression on him. "After meandering in and out of those bubbles/Them rubber glovies were tossed away with the muzzles/I snipped your feeding tube in half and sat there puzzled...you made it through." The backing minimal melodic beat does its job in really letting Onry speak his mind.
8. Look At Her Go: Personally speaking, this is a slightly low point on the album (but luckily the only low point.) On it, Onry talks to a special girl in his life with some vivid imagery, "Your voice - a pocket of diamonds inside my satchel/Your smile - a fanny pack of golden ice capsules," which is nothing to complain about. Musically, however, the playful instrumental and sample choices didn't really work for me. The hook was a bit clunky as well. Hopefully others will dig it more than I did.
9. Familiars: Back on track, we're given a darker moodier intro here before things lead into a drum heavy track that is reminiscent of something off of DTS' 2010 album, "Vessel." The content is slightly vague, but I believe the song is concerned with the brute power of dealing with life hindrances, both physical and otherwise, "All of your arteries are opening/Channeling electricity to these probe machines/It's quite deafening/Mute button on lapse, quite threatening." The long Zavala outro makes everything hit that much more.
10. Ayemen: As we near the end of things, we're given some classic vibrant and illustrious Zavala synths and, being a longtime Onry fan I can say, some real OG Onry Ozzborn deliveries. Onry celebrates his daughter's overcoming of cancer, which has given him a new fresh outlook on life, "Broken before, but never again....used to try, just to live but now I won't die." The song really elevates above an already elevated album and gives us a peek into how far Onry and his fam have really come over the past years.
11. Better Off: As a parting gift, Zavala blesses us with a really colorful soulful instrumental as an outro, with Onry giving us some parting introspective words, "All of your flowers before you perish friends/It's always perfect at first, what about when it ends?/Are you able to make amends or does ego take over empathy and leave us like we hangmen?" Because the album has been a very personal journey for Onry, the raps here, and throughout the album, are able to dispense some words of wisdom without ever getting too preachy, which is something not always easy to achieve. A great closer for a great project.
Overall, "LORE" is not only a welcomed return for Dark Time Sunshine, but also a near-necessary body of therapeutic work that a year like 2021 can absolutely put to use. Zavala's production and Onry's rhymes hit all the senses and provide more than one reason to be optimistic for the future. For those who enjoy either artist, references to Yorgos Lanthimos films/Game of Thrones/Royce Da 5'9/X-Men/Walter Cronkite, or good music in general - be sure to give this a listen!
"LORE" drops via Fake Four Inc. on Thursday, February 4th. You can pre-order your digital copy or physical version HERE. Also peep the music videos for "Familiars" and "7 Knots / Ayemen" below!
