#105 Latyrx - The Album

Note: Out of town for work, not finding a lot of time to listen to music, but will keep a trickle going, and will be back on track in a couple weeks.

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Another Orion rec.

That first track sure sets the tone, its enough to make you wonder why nobody's done that trick before (there's two different raps going on, one in each speaker, and the result is mindblowing in its overcomplexity). Nothing else on here is quite so bizarre, but the album is still so adventurous that its tough not to love. The rapping had that slightly off-kilter, almost-live vibe that I'm a fan of, such that even the clunkiest line-repeating stalling just seems like part of the flow. Its also got a melodic quality, but these guys know how to hit a beat hard, keeping it from getting too positive-hip-hop or too sing-sung.

Maybe its because of said melodic rapping, or the often-melodic backing, but the MCs and production are really tightly coupled, flipping my attention back and forth between them in a way that few rap albums do. I think this is a good thing, but its different - I didn't listen to it the way I normal rap album, I sort of used my rock ears. Relatedly, its not structured like a rap album; it changes much more frequently, and at 47 minutes its downright tight pacingwise.

All this would seem to suggest that it's watered down, but it's simply not. The subject matter is heavy without being hard, personally engaging without being positive, there's a whiff of a curious sense of humor running through the album that somehow doesn't come across goofy. The only downside is that its almost too comfortable, too easy to listen to (that first track notwithstanding). And while the rapping has its "oh damn!" clusters, it doesn't quite go for the throat, doesn't quite ascend to that "oh shit!" level. Then again, I'm listening to this through shitty little headphones for lack of my normal ones, maybe that's not doing it justice. For now 4.5/5