So I decided to write a journal. Not entirely sure what
theme to go with at the moment, but I think I will generally switch between reviewing favourite albums of the ever persuasion, and track reviews. I have made sure to check out quite a few other journals and hopefully use them as a guide to making this a success.
Entry First.
EL-P -
Cancer 4 Cure (2012)
Unless you pay literally zero attention to my posts, you will know that I love
EL-P and near enough everything he has done. All the way back to his
Company Flow days I have loved his production style, lyrical ability and his seamless intertwining of concepts and social commentary into his albums. As it stands,
Fantastic Damage is my favourite project of his, but this pushes it damn close.
Firstly, let's talk about the production, which is probably the biggest improvement on his previous effort
I'll Sleep When You're Dead. I feel as though in his previous albums
EL-P has been held back by limitations in technology, making his futuristic ideals sound a little off, even if his beats were still light years ahead of anyone at the time. In 2012, he has no problem making an album sound
exactly like he imagines, and that sure makes a difference on
C4C. Take opening track,
Request Denied: This is a clear statement. It sounds like
Prodigy and
NiN mixed with elements of
EL-P's previous production style. Rolling drum fills, booming bass, crazy noises and just all sorts of other great stuff. Other than this, the other stand out tracks in terms of production is
Stay Down which is quite possibly my favourite
EL-P song of all time.
Now, I really wanted to get into the lyrics, but I feel as though it is better off experiencing it at first hand. Anybody who is a fan of this guy knows that he will bring it nine times out of ten. But if I had to pick one track to really digest in terms of lyrical themes it would be
The Full Retard. He just goes in on that track. The concept is brilliant, the way he switches up at various points in the song and... oh man.
Basically, this album is a
5/5 all day for me. No questions asked. No1 album of 2012 so far.