CD Review: Restiform Bodies, TV Loves You Back (Anticon.)

Oct 22, 2008 1:53 PM

Pushing beyond hip-hop conceptions
Apparently no one told Passage, Telephone Jim Jesus and Bomarr how hip-hop is supposed to sound. Reuniting for a second LP, they mash up bits of crunk bass and hyphy snares with new-wave synths and rugged guitars, and they make it sound good. With "Black Friday" jumping to double-time jungle, and "Pick It Up, Drop It" working piercing synthesized strings, the uneasy beats induce tension but prove to be ideal bases for lyrical critiques of the opulent American culture. The outsider approach proves hip-hop lacks limits, while the pointed lyrics hit as hard as the beats.—Noah Levine [4 out of 5 stars]

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