Excellent & Pathetic (The EP)
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Grade: A-
Long time recording comrades, fellow Fort Martians and very good friends of mine, Ethereal Plains and Forth Star have recently collaborated, resulting in an incredible collection of songs, titled Excellent & Pathetic (The EP). Comprised of 6 new songs, as well a bonus cut recorded sometime in 2001, this is sure to get your head nodding and brain tingling from the first knocking kick to the final slapping snare.
Ethereal (pronounced "E The Real") is an exceptional emcee, with a laid back/monotone delivery, yet sharp, witty rhyme schemes and heavy content. Excellent & Pathetic (The EP), entirely produced by Forth Star, is a guaranteed fix for hip-hop addicts hungry for some grimey boom-bap. His drums are muddy and his samples are chopped, looped and tweaked to perfection.
The opening track Check The Numbers is backed by dark guitar riffs and filtered bass that rides your spine like a gremlin in heat. REM part 2 is a magnificent story of boy-meets-girl, from the perspective of a uninhibited, young gentlemen.
My favorite track overall is Recluse, where Ethereal & Forth Star trade verses over an acid/rock sample, blessed with rapid fire drums, explaining why some of us keep to ourselves, in our own little artistic worlds.
I gave this one 4.5 stars (A-), based on the music alone. I try my best to remain completely unbiased, since I'm a friend and crew mate to there guys. With that said, I truly would have given this EP 5 stars, if it where a full LP, with more tracks consistently as creative and fresh as the ones provided here.
Simply put, this project is dope. I recommend everyone check it out. And the best part is that it's absolutely free! Social Light Sounds has decided to give it away as a free download. Click the link below and find the link on the homepage.
*** FREE DOWNLOAD ***
Enjoy!
- Arablak
posted by Arablak @ 7:40 PM,
