Essentially cLOUDDEAD minus Doseone, the duo of why? and odd nosdam patch together a ragged classic with their debut as Reaching Quiet. Arranged as a song-cycle in four movements, In the Shadow of the Living Room is a surrealistic collage-style hip-hop symphony. Without Dose, the duo chart an even stranger course than cLOUDDEAD, grasping for meaning among the discarded fragments of American consumer and celebrity culture. In turns whimsical and bleak, Reaching Quiet use live instrumentation, samples, and found sound to cover topics as diverse as Audrey Hepburn, fish food, and shoplifting at Wal-Mart. Imagine early Pavement doing long-form hip-hop and you get a sense of this adventurous album. Not polished and pretty, or even very complete sounding, but full of the joy of creating and exploring. - All Music Guide |