Hello Cruel World by Sole and the Skyrider Band
LABEL: Fake Four Inc.

Two things have changed since the last album by Sole and the Skyrider band, 2009’s Plastique. First, at the beginning of 2010, Sole left his longtime label, Anticon, of which he was a founding member. Yes, it’s sad to see him leave, but his decision may be related to the second change regarding the band: having spent a number of years in Spain honing their sound, Sole and Skyrider Band have decided to move in a poppier direction. The instrumentals are more melodic and groovier — the hazy wash is still there, but the music is no longer an aimless cloud. The same goes for Sole’s rapping.

This album is more driven, and Sole’s bars, while no less angry and abstract, are delivered in a more casual, calm manner — the polysyllabic wrath he’s known for is no longer centerpiece but accoutrement while the new relaxed delivery adds a welcome layer of subtlety. This is apparent from the first track “Napolean,” which features lines like “Self-made man, nobody gave me shit too/ except my addict father, thanks for the anger issues” and a beat clearly informed by contemporary beatcraft aesthetics, the boom-bap featuring ticking hi-hats and disembodied female vocals. But Sole and the band are still as freewheeling as ever — a lot of Sole’s couplets don’t rhyme, and Jamie Stewart’s synth-organ-laden chorus reeks of goth.

  Sole and the Skyrider Band "Hello Cruel World" by sole...

Another interesting element on this record, the group’s third effort, is the guest list of collaborators. Though the usual suspects are present including like-minded spitters Pedestrian, Noah23, and Sage Francis, there are a couple of surprise appearances including one by Xiu Xiu. The most surprising of them, not only for its novelty but for its success, is the song “Bad Captain Swag,” featuring Lil B. The Skyrider band provides a heady backing beat of synths and busy, clipped drums which sound like they’re traveling through a network cable. Sole actually sounds a bit like the Based God, with a fluid, nonchalant delivery and lines like “Call me young Cheney.” The Based God’s sloppy free association sounds great over the beat, except his verse sounds somewhat phoned-in.

Sole’s new rap style — curiously betraying a pronounced Based God influence  — proves to be compelling, though there a number of self-righteous missteps like “DIY.” But for every cringeworthy moment like “everywhere I go I’m local, even if I only spit that Shakespeare,” there is a moment of piercing clarity, such as on the title track where Sole wearily says “Seriously, why is the day so short? And why is life so long?” As an aside, the touches of timpani on that song are pure class. The move toward pop, not only rhyme-wise but musically, shouldn’t be shocking given his “Nuclear Winter” mixtape series, where he bends mainstream rap instrumentals toward his leftist proclivities. So a track like “Fire,” whose chorus sounds like it should have a Chris Brown impersonator on it, shouldn’t be considered blasphemous.

It’s a natural evolution for a man reaching the midpoint of his life and realizing that music isn’t the revolutionary force he once thought it was — at least, his isn’t, his tiny rabid fanbase notwithstanding. These more mainstream tendencies are not dilutions of Sole’s old sound; they’re distillations of his new sound. And for the most part, Sole and the Skyrider band’s deranged take on pop works. Sole doesn’t need to preach anymore, he can simply state his beliefs — “rap as journalism,” he has called it. But if I didn’t know from past experience that Sole is an incredible rapper, there are moments on this record which would make me wonder if Sole cared much about his delivery.

  Sole and the Skyrider Band "Vaya Con El Diablo" (feat. Isaiah Toothtaker, Mestizo & Ceschi) by sole...

Indeed, there are some strange decisions here, such as on “We Will Be Moved,” where an incredibly compelling rhthmic melody played on pitched toms, only appears intermittently, particularly before the first chorus. Combined with Ceschi trying to sound like an existentially-informed Kanye (“that’s deep, I know”) and Noah23’s blurred abstractions, the song shows that the band is still finding its footing regarding its new direction. As well, consider the unsavory cheese of the guitars which appear sometimes on “Possimism.” The synths don’t help, either. Speaking of, there’s a lot of synth on this record, and it’s hit-or-miss. It’s grating on “Home Aint Shit,” which tries to be industrial, successful on the warped, space-age crunk of “Immortality,” and, thankfully, inoffensive in most instances.

If it isn’t clear from the above paragraph, the midsection of the record is a somewhat-barren stretch, but it’s worth slogging through. Things start to pick up with “Formal Design 134340.” The aforementioned “Immortality” is compelling, and “Progress Trap” featuring Sage Francis is stellar, a mournful and spacious dirge featuring lines like “I’m just trying not to be eaten by moss.” It’s an introspective wonder of a track. “Vaya Con El Diablo” is less listenable, bloated with features, and it actually makes you miss Sole’s voice and cadence. “Vaya” is barebones synth and drums, featuring autotuned vocals. It’s a pretty cool track, surprisingly triumphant, though the autotune quickly overstays its welcome.

“Vaya” is a microcosm of the album as a whole, in fact — containing a few questionable, even unsavory elements. Mostly, though, Hello Cruel World showcases the potential of a group finding new life in exploring the range of a more pop-friendly sound. It displays the stumblings and successes of an underground veteran who, after so many years in the game, is left with only a bitter taste in his mouth and a desire to just make music that he wants to hear, necessarily political but not necessarily frothing at the mouth. And if Sole and the Skyrider band continue to whittle and sharpen their sound, Anticon will be even sorrier that they lost them. Recommended.


REVIEWED BY MANUEL ABREU
MANUEL’S FAVORITE TRACKS: “Napolean” • “Bad Captain Swag” • “Progress Trap”

FREE MP3: “Napolean (w/ Xiu Xiu)”
FREE MP3: “Hello Cruel World (Alias Remix w/ WHY?'s Yoni Wolf”