Having begun his career as DJ / producer for independent
Ohio hip-hop crew MHz, RJD2 became something of an overnight
sensation when he dropped his Def Jux debut Deadringer
in 2002. Like the work of DJ Shadow, with whom RJ will
unfortunately always be compared, Deadringer
was firmly rooted in the hip-hop tradition but used
the old school, strictly-samples / cut & paste aesthetic
as a springboard for some impressively complex and wide-ranging
sonic adventures. While the album did contain three
straightahead MC-led tracks (featuring MHz cohorts Blueprint,
Jakki and Copywrite) these were by no means the best
cuts. The album’s real strengths lay in the exploratory
solo songs, which blended old soul vocals, horns, guitars
and super-tight drum chops into seamless concoctions
that often had the feel of a real band. His astounding
artistry with a sampler has since led RJ to production
and remix work for everyone from hip-hop peers like
Souls Of Mischief and Diverse to indie-rock outsiders
Elbow and The Polyphonic Spree, all of which make expectations
for his sophomore set very high indeed.
The wonderfully titled Since We Last Spoke
arrives with mixed blessings, somehow managing to exceed
the aforementioned expectations and dash the listener’s
hopes. To his credit, RJ has clearly made a concerted
effort to evolve his sound by doing away with the safe-bet
MC tracks and digging out new sonic matter for his MPC
to digest and regurgitate. Unfortunately, he seems to
have tried just a little to hard in achieving this.
Things start off pretty nicely with the title track
which immediately states its rocking intent with powerful
synth and guitar stabs and builds into an all-dancing,
hands-in-the-air stomper, complete with bouncy piano
and customarily fat drums. The track is filled with
dancefloor-friendly breakdowns, fades and cut-outs that,
in the context of a normal “dance” record,
would reek of cliché but here are executed with
an acute emphasis on the organic and come across as
truly inspired. However, when the rock assault continues
with the proggy, metallic groove of Exotic Talk,
the effect starts to wear quickly.
Taking an unexpected left-turn, RJ proceeds with the
samba-rock hybrid Since ’76 whose percussive
main groove comes on a like a horny Santana, with a
moog noodling over the top. A very familiar and slightly
cheesy trumpet hook mars things slightly while a series
of lighting edits and jerky interruptions keep the interest
up despite removing us from the carefully constructed
live band illusion. The Latin theme continues on the
impressively layered Ring Finger where an acoustic
guitar-wielding Spanish folk group hijacks a chunky
rock groove in mid-flow, leading it towards a tasteful
bluesy guitar solo and surrounding it with pulsating
synths, dancing piano and dubbed-up drums.
When we get to the fifth track, Making Days Longer,
things start to get really strange. Squiggly analogue
keys state a melancholy melody embellished with very
occasional, superbly subtle guitar phrases and strings
that swell and fade almost imperceptibly, while a jazzy
sounding vintage kit holds the beat down with exquisite
grace. The only problem comes with the seemingly heartfelt
but weak male vocals (RJ’s own?) which upset an
otherwise impeccable arrangement. From here on in things
become increasingly unpredictable, which in this case
isn’t necessarily a good thing. We get some low-riding,
laid-back funk with appropriately hazy vocal samples
(Someone’s Second Kiss, To All Of
You) which mostly work very nicely, but nearly
every track has an underlying threat of 80s overload,
with bombastic keyboards and guitars lurking round every
corner. It all reaches its apex with Through The
Walls where you’ll be forgiven for thinking
you’ve stumbled into a sampler’s soft-rock
nightmare.
Fortunately, a little redemption is at hand on the atmospheric,
snappy-snared closer One Day where a hard-done-by
soul crooner has his syllables twisted and extended
to disorientating effect by RJ’s itchy fingers:
'I’ve been a foooooolllllllllllllllllll' indeed.
But this final spark arrives too late to save the whole
project.
It’s a shame to criticise a record that attempts
so wilfully and forcefully to advance from its predecessor
but it seems to me that, this time round, RJ may just
be too technically adept for his own good. He’s
clearly mastered the art of long-form sampling but instead
of refining his palette he’s extended it just
beyond control. As a consequence, Since We Last
Spoke ends up a jumpy, uneven affair that unlike
the beautifully sequenced Deadringer, doesn’t
have the satisfactory feel of a proper album. This is
the work of an undoubtedly brave and often brilliant
producer who just needs to reign in some of his stranger
impulses. Approach with caution.
Andrew Bowman
3.3/5 |
