Prefuse 73
Surrounded by
Silence
Warp
Records
Prefuse 73 is about making
beats, which, in this day and age, might seem like a quaint exercise. But with
mainstream hip-hop circling the drain for the past year or two, and the same
old turntablists still sounding like, well, the same
old turntablists, a new approach to beat science is
more than welcome. And Prefuse 73 — we won’t spoil
the fun by revealing any names — fucks with the program in a way that would
make the earliest beat pioneers more than proud.
Prefuse’s focus on
beats could spell monotony, but he’s well-known for his ability to take jarring
left turns with his music. The concentration of sounds, and Prefuse’s
willingness to puree whole genres, is dizzying. But his hot rhythms keep things
anchored for the heads.
On
Surrounded by Silence the theme is
collaboration, and it’s tackled with the same verve as Prefuse
73’s usual experiments. Vocalists and musicians from various reaches of modern
music (The Books, Ghostface, El-P, Blonde Redhead’s Kazu, Beans, Claudia and AlejandraDeheza, etc.)are
enlisted and placed into the Prefuse context as he
makes his digital connections. It’s a great coming together, and it happens
almost seamlessly; that is, once you grow accustomed to Prefuse’s
schizoid tendencies. And the bottom line is that it’s all so crunchy, so full
of up-to-the-moment funk, it’s undeniable.
—
ChadOliveiri
Fannypack
See You Next
Tuesday
Tommy
Boy
Pop-teen
trio Fannypack, best known for the tacky one-hit
wonder “Camel-toe,” released their second full-length album this week. With
“Camel-toe” (if you’re wondering, it’s the vaginal equivalent of a wedgie) Fannypack joined the
unlucky club of gifted musicians unknown for anything beyond their one chart
hit. And, unfortunately, it obscured the rest of So Stylistic, one of the best hip-hop albums of 2003.
There
are actually five members in Fannypack, but the two
brainchild producers — Fancy and Matt Goias —
remain in the shadows, affording frontgirlsJessibel(18), Belinda (16), and Cat (21) the spotlight. See You Next Tuesdayis
poised to redeem the group’s faddish reputation. Geared to the Seventeen set, Tuesday is an anomaly: It appeals to hop-scotchers
and hipsters alike.
With
an impossibly mature taste in musical style, the album is an inspired pastiche
of influences, drawing from dancehall, bhangra,
drum-n-bass, ’80s hip-hop, electro, and Miami bass. The
girls boast a tripartite rapping interplay that hasn’t been heard since the
days of Paul’s Boutique. And their
crackling lyrics, effervescent delivery, and predilection for impolite language
make the album irresistibly fun. This one might be a rung down from the heights
of So Stylistic, but that still
leaves it at the top of the heap.
—
Michael Neault
This article appears in May 11-17, 2005.
