| The Weather is a good name for this album because there are at least as many sounds on this CD as there are types of weather. That is an amazing feat considering it comes from LA where there are only two seasons - summer and fall. Busdriver's flows come down like hail: a little rough, but with speed and intensity. Radioinactive is more like rain, hitting smoother than Busdriver's intense flow. Both emcees have styles that are very distinctive and, at the same time, mix well, like Seinfeld and Costanza. Daedelus brings something to the table that makes this group something different - it's like the Avalanches met Blackalicious and they did the polka. His music is the impetus to this crazy concoction that became The Weather. Daedelus' samples on this CD are priceless. The choices are something Kid Koala could appreciate and, at times, are something my grandma could dance to. Now the part that really makes The Weather something altogether different is the choice in lyrics. They are random and different. I think my favorite line has to be out of "Weather Locklear" where Radioinactive states, "Sounds like you've got some problems / You need to smoke pot with goblins." That one had me laughing so hard I almost choked on my own tongue. After hearing the album straight through a couple of times, I started to read into the lyrics and found that they are actually quite satirical of contemporary issues. In the song "Pen's Oil," Busdriver extends his views on politics saying, "Just because the world runs on oil doesn't mean oilmen should run the world." The Weather is original and capable of expanding the genre of hip-hop. Sometimes the expansion of boundary becomes too experimental and loses some of its professionalism. About halfway through the CD it kind of lost face and hinted at sketchiness. Some of the verse became unattached to the music. Yet, even though it was sketchy at times, I kept interest in it because it was different and good. - In Your Ear |
2XLP/Out Of Print