| If life were fair, producers of Thavius Beck's range and caliber would rule the airwaves. Seamlessly melding a bright club-floor bounce with an unrelenting hip-hop attack, moody, ethereal samples and a feel for swirling, foreboding melodies that would make the post-rock community swoon, Beck's second solo album, Thru, is a spicy mélange of sounds and flavors, all coming together to do their part for the benefit of the whole recipe. Beck is no stranger to this brand of "experimental" hip-hop; he's toured with Saul Williams as his backing producer and has lent his skills to Williams' albums. He's also made the dance-club rounds under a variety of monikers. Thru, however, is something of a breakout for him - his first chance to really explore and expand the facets of his sound without the tempering force of someone else's ideas. This is made clear on the opening track, "Sonic Sound," a dance-flavored introductory groove on which Beck repeats: "Music...New Ideas...Sonic Sound..." This repeated mantra serves as a battle cry for the album's campaign. These tracks are continually developing in surprising ways, searching relentlessly for newer, more expressive incarnations. A Gregorian-like chant somehow mutates into a squelchy Boards of Canada sound and back again against a frenetic drum background on "Under Pressure." "The Storm Before the Calm" goes from moments of thick orchestra-tuning chords to a deep DJ Shadow-style beat to a more Latiny, techno feel over the course of its four and a half minutes. "Perpetual Pursuit" begins with a staccato, spy-theme guitar line, and slowly adds a jazzy drumbeat and spooky soaring keyboards, which leak oddly into the weepy string sample of "Yet and Still..." As good as these tracks are, the standout moments are reserved for the tracks with guest MCs. "'98," starring up and coming rapper Nocando, sets the tragic story of the young man's father's death against a light poppy beat and almost whimsical piano interjections. The track is a triumph of ironic juxtaposition of sound and meaning. "Lyrical Gunplay" features Saul Williams, whose breathless, run-on vocabulary is effortlessly supported by Beck's lively production, without any of the pseudo-soul histrionics that sometimes make Williams unpalatable. And of course, no brilliant "experimental" album would be complete without an appearance by Mia Doi Todd, whose distinctive voice serves as the basis of a triangle-and-broken-glass sound montage called "Down." Thru, it's safe to say, is a great album for just about any situation. Its beats and movement would be received equally well on the floor of an international dance club, played on repeat at a hipster house party, or late at night in a good pair of headphones. It's a rare thing for a producer to have a handle on such an expansive range of influences, but on Thru, Thavius Beck shows that he is one of the best music-makers out there, and practically guarantees that his product is only going to continue to grow more comprehensively complex and interesting. - Urban Pollution |
1XLP/Out Of Print