JOEL GEHRINGER / GZO | Posted: Thursday, July 20, 2006 7:00 pm
There’s not usually much to report in the world of alt-hip-hop turntable records. Let’s face it, it’s just not as marketable as emo (gag), country (double gag) or punk-ska (gag times infinity).
Too bad it’s ten times more interesting than any of that stuff, and that’s also true for Cut Chemist’s debut album, “The Audience’s Listening.”
Cut Chemist is best known for his turntable work with alternative hip-hop group Jurassic 5.
But he’s left the group to make a name for himself, and though “The Audience’s Listening” won’t catapult Chemist out of underground DJ status, it’s certainly a step toward establishing his solo legitimacy.
The album’s not a hip-hop album, but it’s not a techno album either. It walks that fine line between prominent DJ-heavy genres, much like the recent work of The Chemical Brothers (huh, what’s with the chemistry references?).
In truth, there’s some five-star tracks hidden smack dab in the middle of this album. “The Garden” spins an incredibly infectious beat with well-placed samplings that give it a Middle Eastern vibe.
Meanwhile, “A Peak in Time” is a snare-driven tune sure to inspire some kind of uncontrollable movement.
And “What’s the Attitude,” one of the only tracks that’s truly a hip-hop song, will probably be a dance club mainstay in the near future.
Usually, three or four great songs like those are enough to lift an album above all the other junk that’s out there.
But the rest of “The Audience’s Listening” is so smoothed out and chilled that curiosity fades quickly on most tracks. After all, a loop and a bunch of sound bites will only take one so far in this business.
Chemist’s work makes a good-not-great album, but nevertheless it’s refreshing to know creativity will still surface every so often in the pop music universe.
“The Audience’s Listening”
*** (out of five stars)