Review: Doomtree - False Hopes 15 (2009)

5 emcees.
4 producers.
1 house. (give or take)
15 false hopes.

It's got the makings of a reality television show. And that's what's behind the Doomtree collective out of the Twin Cities. While the one house may be a stretch, False Hopes 15 definitively debuted with Blowout V; the all-out annual showcase at First Avenue highlighting a good chunk of that TC talent. They have come a long way, and those City of Lakes waves are breaking the surface with P.O.S. performing at the MTVu Woodies and Dessa about to drop her highly anticipated debut full length, January 22nd. (Pre-order now for an exclusive live broadcast of rehearsels, signed copy and more.)

Variety is the keystone to FH:XV. Producer only cuts? Paper Tiger pulls the trigger, establishing a very basic beat as the collective's foundation. Nothing lavish, but this proves that simplicity can be more than just basic. He sets the mood, passing to Lazerbeak's Mystic Lakes casino whirl with Sims & Stef (P.O.S.) on "Coup for the Kings." This and the ensuing "Profit & Loss" peek into the lighter side of the group's style before it absconds with shadows and heaviness in a wake over Cecil Otters' "A Rickety Bridge"…


"We're Workin' Hard"

This isn't the normal darkness, it's that pitch black moonless night. The heaviest track goes to none other than Dessa's "Scuffle", pushing her versatility far from "Sadie Hawkins" territory thanks to P.O.S.'s hardcore punk production. The rhymes, delivered smooth as suede, comes accompanied by cutting condemnations. Like I said, January's around the corner and this emcee will grab your attention, whether you expect it or not.

Stef sounds matured, road-weary on "Do Not Stay" (he recently spent summer in Europe, quenching a thirsty growing fanbase) while Mike Mictlan makes good, giving us a studio version of "OMG!" When he's paced, I can really get into Mike. Being a rhyming raconteur, as if dolling out wisdom, makes this a standout in his anthology. This proved, along with "Scuffle", to be the reasons to buy the fifteenth installment. False Hopes 15 calls it a wrap much like False Hopes 13, bookended by an instrumental care of Cecil Otter.


Doomtree
Official | iTunes

Rating: 8.5/10

Review Roundup: Vampire Weekend, Crash Kings, Smile Empty Soul

Vampire Weekend - Cousins
Truth be told, I wasn't a fan of their debut. While refreshing and charming with its melodic pop,
"A-Punk" and Co. lost its carbonation and became stale too quickly for my musical tastebuds. However, "Cousins" shakes off that perishable shelf-life to create a more energetic response to their prior singles, "A-Punk" and "Oxford Comma". Speedy surfy guitars will surely draw raves from the indie rock crowd, and the minor touches, keys and bells, sell me this time around.
8.1

Crash Kings - Mountain Man
The Los Angeles trio takes arena rock, the kind you'd hear on KXXR and WIIL, and tweaks the formula on "Mountain Man." Tony, the lead singer, tugs attention with bursting flares that, when he speeds up, nearly channels Freddie Mercury. The piano helps differentiate Crash Kings, who I feared would be another Charm City Devils-country rock with simplified lyrics-yet edges closer to Wolfmother.
7.2



Smile Empty Soul - Don't Ever Leave
Smile Empty Soul's gone a long way from "Bottom Of A Bottle" and "Silhouettes", two contenders for the top alternative tracks of 2003. "Don't Ever Leave" tries to channel the likes of Puddle of Mudd's "Away from Me" and "Control" lyrically, yet wraps itself up in a straight-jacket of confusion caught between alternative and alternative pop. As much as I enjoyed "Bottle" and the less well-known, better "Silhouettes", Smile Empty Soul's Consciousness holds more satisfying, distinctive pieces like "Faker" and "Faceless."
5.1

Review: Felt - Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez (2009)

Confession. I hate hip-hop. The beats are repetitive, unimaginative to the point it may as well be techno. Lyrically, it only (mis)treats drugs, abuse, and violence. There no true musicianship behind rap, nothing that makes me want to learn an instrument or be a better artist. Welcome to early 2003, or as I call, the pre-Slug & Ant époque of my music listening history. Months later, a best friend who shared a common appreciation for Midwest punks Alkaline Trio and Apocalypse Hoboken shocked me with, "Hey, have you heard of Slug? He's a rapper from the Twin Cities." Slug, what kind of name is that. Rapper, um…no. Twin Cities, … okay, got my me-growing-up-in-Hennepin County attention, I'll give it a chance. In 2009, Atmosphere tops my Last.fm Overall Artist listens with runners-up Ratatat separated by nearly 200 listens. What happened?!

I forced myself to listen to Slug, wanting to like his music solely for the fact he resides in the coolest (figuratively and literally) place in the Midwest, Minneapolis. Through him, that schematic that all rap must be violent and gang-focused was shredded, burned, and buried. The beats being dull? Well, that misconception was soundly defeated to the heavy production and lyricism of one Manhattan-based emcee/producer Aesop Rock. So when "Protagionists" hit the internet tubes harder than the Hadron Collider, those musical gauges focused on Slug & Murs instantly, skeptically pointed to Aes. The following Red Rocks unveil confirmed that too-good-to-be-true moment, revealing indeed the two main artists who shattered my prior hip-hop hatred were united for the third Felt, A Tribute to Rosie Perez. Expectations were so high I forced myself to bring them back down, until ten seconds of "She Sonnet" beats made those efforts futile.



Felt #: A Tribute to [Insert Cougar Here], the third installment is a indie rap cornucopia worthy to be under that Christmas tree. It's got the speaker rattlers ("Bass For Your Trunk" and "Felt Good"), modern-day romantic odes ("Ghost Dance Deluxe" and "G.I. Josephine"), and everyone's favorite Springsteen-meets-rhymes working man ballads ("Glory Burning"). The latter most accurately depicts the third iteration of Felt; the trifecta giving without taking. Slug frames the narrative while Murs projects himself into the first person of a "boy born to be a soldier", each contribution raising the others' layers.

Albums that cross the 16-track marker can drag, Felt 3 fights this through Aesop's spontaneous interjections. These brief infusions offer relief and give new life unlike drawn out, tired skits. Granted Aes does introduce "Henrietta Longbottom" with snores and nursery music, a lull that shakes up your attention-span. The out-there cuts contribute more than beats when you get halfway in, adding that zest to the rest. The aforementioned Miss Longbottom proves to be the highlight, an all-star lead-up hitter to "She Sonnet" and its sunken guitar-laden beats backing tall tale storytelling. "She Sonnet" meets its expectations, while "Give It Up", "Whaleface", and "Ghost Dance Deluxe" exceed them and pull the Felt duo ahead of Lisa Bonet and Christina Ricci.


Chewed Up

A Tribute to Rosie Perez could have been another example of infamous supergroups stumbles, but the trio avoids tangling themselves up by artistic egos. Although long, the Slug, Murs and Aesop duo plus uno lend distinct pieces to the most memorable of all Felt chapters. No quarreling moments, no spotlight grabbing-what I hoped for. Just three of the most talented artists in rap working and succeeding in reinvigorating, lifting Felt from perceived side-project status to "my wallet is demanding when the tour will be."


Felt
MySpace | Fifth Element Store | iTunes

Rating: 8.4/10

Video: British alt-folk trio Peggy Sue's "Watchmen" at CMJ

Best video of a song we caught Halloween evening at The Whistler in Chicago (though care of CMJ and NYC instead of Chi-city). Last gig of their North American tour with fellow Brits, Sky Larkin. With interchanging instruments, this Brighton-via-London trio, Peggy Sue, was a phenomenal alt-folk injection into zombie-filled night. A review should be up soon via Radio Free Chicago.

Video: France's 2009 Music Revelation, Charlie Winston

Granted, he's British. This musician came to Paris after not finding much luck in the uber-competitive scene of England. No one seemed to heed his call, but the French picked up at the caller ID and have not hung up yet. Charlie Winston has since sold 300,000 copies of his album, Hobo, since it's release this Spring. No word yet on an American release date, but for a country about the size of Texas, selling those numbers says something. Have a listen, his album's more than golden.

Video: Improv Session with Kam Moye, Jern Eye and Keelay

"That's why the shorties say I'm bad as Malfoy..." - Jern Eye

I'm a sucker for improved rhyming, but that line just stopped me in hilarity. Loved it!

Video: BK-One and Minnerap from Toki Wright, Brother Ali and Evidence

Nothing captures a live performance like a one-take tour promo. Brother Ali really delivers the rhyming viciousness of his shows accompanied by recent Rhymesayers additions, Toki Wright and Evidence. Check the dates and hit 'em up in your town.

Video: Diamond District on the DMV Documentary

Consisting of emcees X.O. and YU along with producer/emcee Oddissee, Diamond District gives a tour of their stomping grounds of DC, Maryland and Virginia. Coming from the spread-out Midwest, you never really think about the influences of such as small region as the DMV. Spare some time and check out this behind the scenes view of their influences as Diamond District finishes up In The Ruff, coming out October 27th via Mello Music Group.

Video: Making of Wax Tailor's New Album, "In the Mood..." and Chicago Date

Wax Tailor is a trip/hip-hop producer crafting some of the freshest, yet vintage beats in recent years out of Paris, France. His third album, In the Mood for Life, continues in the vein of borrowing vocal tracks from cinema of yonder year and mashing them into rhymes of today's times. Capping at 18 minutes, this extensive behind the scenes view of his album is enthralling with superb direction, truly giving an inside view into this exciting, upcoming producer's creative process and world.

Wax Tailor is about to land on American shores for a series of dates. The sole Midwest date is October 12th at Schuba's in Chicago. $14 at the door. It's a Monday, but really, you don't have an excuse to not show up (even if you're watching Heroes).