Well, Atmosphere in more ways than one starts off on a very old-school note with “Jerome” as an intro. It’s a sort of polished beat, sort of. But most of the rest of this is a very bombastic, grimy Rap tune. Slug as aways is strong at analyzing himself, and it’s as gnarly as ever. But honestly, it leads to some of his more confident bars I’ve heard in a long time. Now, I have to say, Slug is still in a very different time in his life. But so many moments here have him looking at his life in a different way, and chatting about aging in the Rap scene, much like his buddy Aesop Rock did on “The Impossible Kid”. Now, I do sort of wish this was a little more bombastic and impactful. But Atmosphere sound on their game. Now, “Stopwatch” is very interesting. With this one, Atmosphere does really start to get on their game. This track, even though it’s pretty hard hitting is still very minimal in a very Atmosphere way. Slug sounds really coherent which is fantastic, and most importantly sounds confident. Now, I still really haven’t heard anything close to a catchy hook, which is a little disheartening. And while yes, Atmosphere has done plenty in Music without hooks, I still would love to hear it. But outside of that Slug brings up a to of the same very dreary and wild themes that he’s been bringing up for years. But it’s the little details here like the Classic Rock riff and the ghoulish samples towards the end that really make this come off memorable to me. On the other hand, “Virgo” is the breakout track I wanted to hear. This track is absolutely soul-crushing. Atmosphere has broken out Acoustic riffs here and there in the past, and when they do, it’s usually for a mighty emotional ballad. And yes, this is no different. Slug sounds like a damn prophet here, bringing up aging once again, mostly in the Rap world. But he also brings up politics, the Youth, life, and seemingly so much more. But his vocal performance is just so incredibly real. So bruised, so beaten down, and most importantly human. In a weird way, this doesn’t even come off like a Rap tune. But it’s absolutely mesmerizing for while it’s on, and actually may just be one of my favorite Rap tunes of the year. It’s just so bluesy and painfully real, it’s fantastic. Now, I actually continue to love the wide array of instrumentals. Clearly, this is still a Rap album. But “Delicate” gives this album that very Alternative feel that Atmosphere really nailed back in the early 2000’s. Slug continues to not sound nearly as aggressive and monstrous as he once did. But in return, he sounds at his most human quite possibly ever. I love the haunting synths that pop in and out, and I have to give credit to these lyrics. Slug may be far removed from rapping about drugs and hookers, but he’s traded that in for tons of imagery that’s just so tasteful and interesting. This one ends up being just as bluesy and emotional as the last track. It’s actually really interesting to hear some of these aging MC’s weigh in on these topics. Also, I continue to love just how bluesy this is.
Now, while a lot of these tracks don’t have the same edginess to them, there’s still a strong sense of danger at a lot of times. “Drown” featuring Cashinova, The Lioness & deM atlaS is very cautious and treads on so slowly. But to be honest, it’s moments like this where Atmosphere do lose me a little bit. Lyrically, this is just as prophetic and twisted and filled with grizzly imagery. And that’s fine, I don’t even have an issue with the chilling, sung hook. But outside of that, this just isn’t where I want to hear Atmosphere. I feel like this is just so campy, these overly dark beats just haven’t aged well. The verses here are totally fine, but there are so many better examples of this sound here. “Anymore” with it’s very bluesy, emotional guitar riff just sounds so much more in the right direction. As ridiculous as it sounds, the more Rock instrumentals I’ve heard in Atmosphere’s music over the years has actually made their sound more concrete. It’s once again a very bruised sound, and yes, you can argue that a lot of these themes do blend together occasionally. But Slug’s been through a lot in his life, and he brings in tons of personal experience and imagery that make it all come off so fresh. You can also argue that this sound is out of date. And to an extent, yes, it is. But I would honestly rather listen to this than hear Slug try to update his sound. And as simple as it is, that recording they put in towards the end brings me back to the days of “Seven’s Travels”. On the other hand, “Earring” featuring Musab has a very haunting vibe to it. But most impressively, we’re like 7 tracks in yet and we haven’t heard anything too cheesy. And let me tell you, that fact alone is beyond exciting for me. These tracks are just so bluesy and broken, and Slug continues to come off fairly conscious, which I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear. It’s so simple, but hearing Atmosphere go into stuff like addictions and what we do to ourselves as humans is just stunning. But Atmosphere does really have to be careful with this sound. Because so much of these sounds that put them on the map years ago have aged poorly. And on “Trim”, this isn’t what I want to hear at all. Like, there are a few moments that come off a little cute. But 90% of this track is literally going into detail on Slug’s sex life after he’s had kids. Which, I’m sure there’s room for in Rap. But so many of these lines are Slug at his cheesiest. Like, I literally can’t help but laugh at way too many lyrics here. And this beat really doesn’t help either honestly.
Thankfully, Atmosphere does answer with another very grimy, twisted, bluesy track in the form of “Specificity”. But Slug does continue to drop the ball in other places. This is actually a really aggressive and intense tune that I can groove to. But by the time I get into it and this one starts going hard, it’s over. This just ends up being a short afterthought, and it’s a shame because I do love hearing this more aggressive approach. This album continues to spiral out of control with “Mijo”. This beat is just so corny and not nearly as gritty as this album started. And Slug’s verse here has just become so damn cheesy to an unheard of level. The thing is, this has been such a mature album for Slug, with him reminiscing on so many aspects of his life. And on “Mijo”, we’re talking about the birth of a child, emotional topic. But there has to be a better way than this because this is unbearably cheesy. But Slug pulls his act together for the last few tracks. First up we have “Randy Mosh” featuring The Dynospectrum. Right off the bat, this is grimy, twisted and practically Psychedelic. It’s also much more dense and heavy than the tracks we’ve heard in a while. In a weird way, it almost comes off like “Goblin” era Tyler the Creator. Like, here, Slug and company just come off so dangerous. This is just so obvious and straightforward. I mean, for a few minutes I would even say Slug sounds so young and like the guy who performed classic albums like “God Loves Ugly”. And the Dynospectrum actually have some great chemistry with him. There’s also some not-so-subtle nods to HorrorCore which come off great too. So it’s obviously not like Slug can’t bring great tracks together. But I have no idea where this monster of a finale came from. “Graffiti” is just so simple, so twisted and tight. Like some of the earlier tracks here, this is absolutely painfully real. There are still a lot of Rock elements to this. But it’s Slug’s performance here that makes this a knockout. His performance on this one is incredibly sincere, he once again just comes off much more mature. But here, he comes off as a grizzled veteran much more than someone who's lost his touch. It’s dramatic and down to earth, and the bluesy vibes are so real. And yes, it’s seriously dark. If I heard this sound for 12 tracks, this would have been a classic.
Rating: 7.5/10
Give A Listen To: “Virgo”, “Delicate”, “Earring”, “Graffiti”
Least Favorite Track: “Trim”
Genre: Hip Hop / Alternative Hip Hop
Overall Thoughts: At it’s best moments, this is some of Atmosphere’s most deeply personal and introspective work to date. And if you know anything about this collective, that’s saying something. Slug here often goes deep into being a father and growing older in the Rap music world. And yea, these are topics that are new to him, and when they come off effective sound pretty freakin’ awesome. But at the same time, there are moments where they come off painfully cheesy and just plain awkward. This album is certainly decent, but there’s also a lot of really off moments. Atmosphere go back and forth between coming off genuinely bluesy, beat down and bruised, and just plain goofy. But there’s certainly more good than bad here, and “Virgo” is easily one of the best tracks Slug’s written in years
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