Themselves - The No Music
(Anticon)
Let's start off this review by making a declaration. To save a lot of trouble, and avoid getting involved in the pointless debate over the relevancy of groups such as Themselves in today's hip-hip scene, I declare that Themselves are not a hip-hop group. OK now we can get on with it.
Doseone and Jel's latest project, following their acclaimed self-titled Them album, visits some strange places indeed. From the street samples, whistles and fractured beats of "Poison Pit" to Doseone's monologue on masturbation at the start of "Hat in the Wind," it's clear that this is the extreme side of the Anticon label. Perhaps surprisingly, Themselves manage to make this odd concoction sound natural. Not many groups could manage to fit lyrics such as "Where's the safe happy everlasting page long candy coat?/Over there, draped over your birthday black and black exposed throat" into the flow of a song. From the in-jokes and obscure references, The No Music likes to play with itself. Be prepared to not understand.
"Good People Check" provides an important musical and thematic centerpiece of the album. Its relative conventionality makes it stand out from the pack, but it is also distinguished by the direct commentary delivered by our man Doseone. Rap music is Dose's target, derided for its current hollow and superficial state. At the same time Dose is nostalgic for the old days of hip-hop, and has a clear message for today's poseurs "Shove that gun up your ass/You're as good as dead." Jel shines on "Good People Check," melding beautiful samples with a sputtering beat that builds and then falls.
Doseone works best when he is the center of attention. Unfortunately, on The No Music he is tragically low in the mix. The mix itself is somewhat muddy, leaving the listener little room to move in the morass.
While a lot of thought probably went into the making of The No Music, it often sounds like a bunch of creative guys messing around in the studio. Perhaps for this reason, it is not the landmark album that cLOUDDEAD or Boom Bip and Doseone's Circle were. (Both records featured Doseone.) Some listeners will definitely find this record a tad self-indulgent, but in the end, The No Music serves to remind us that there are just too many dull albums out there.
|
