| Calling Los Angeles home, Thavius Beck returns to the fold via Thru, his second full-length solo effort on Mush. You may recognize him from past efforts under the moniker Adlib or his Labwaste project with Subtitle or maybe even his earliest output with Global Phlowtations. He's also had numerous guest spots on various albums and has toured in support of Saul Williams (who makes an appearance on the album). An ambitious producer, skilled engineer/programmer, and multi-instrumentalist, Thavius's sound is quite difficult to pigeonhole. He takes various elements of electronic music and mixes them with hip-hop for an experimental, synth-driven sound that approaches the progressive sounds of Anticon artists while staying in a much more listenable frame of reference. Take for instance the stabbing, schizophrenic snare of "Under Pressure" that at first sounds a bit frantic before the underlying synth layers provide a groovy melodic background for the beat to explore. The majority of the material herein is instrumental and takes on a dark, almost eerie vibe that hip-hop artists often avoid making for a relaxing, introspective listen. The exclusion of "party jamz" or overly experimental ambience is a welcome respite as his sound comes from a more versatile and texturally varied pallette. The plodding "The Storm Before the Calm" is a fine example of the brooding mood mentioned above. There are, however, a few tracks that include vocals. Two of the said tracks are actually handled by Beck himself, but he also has guest spots from LA commorade 2Mex as well as Saul Williams, Mia Doi Todd, and Nocando. Saul does his thing, dropping a poetic romp on "Lyrical Gunplay" and 2Mex sounds a little like a less hateful Vinnie Paz and has a pretty decent flow on "Dedicated to Difficulty." Nocando's appearence on " '98" goes along with the dark feel of the album as it chronicles the death of a loved one. Mia Doi Todd's spot is the most out of the oridnary as she's known for folk, but she doesn't try to flow, just provides some very complimentary, eerie upper-register vocal lines. With Thru, Thavius Beck has created a unique album that straddles the line between hip hop and other electronic music while painting a darkened, brooding mood. The compositions are textured and keep the listeners attention throughout, but can also provide a good soundtrack to your candle-lit session of introspection. - Delusions of Adequacy |
1XLP/Out Of Print