Restiform Bodies are the only act on Anticon to be picked up as a result of demo-shopping. Sole received a tape from them at Scribble Jam a few years back and was blown away. He offered them a deal and welcomed them into the Anticon commune out in California. You know Restiform had something unique and new for Sole to be so impressed by them. The number of demos sent Anticon's way is no doubt an enormous amount, consisting of weak art-rap imitators and sorry experimentation. For Restiform to be so quickly accepted was a good sign of their abilities.
Passage, Telephone Jim Jesus, and Bomarr have been honing their sound over the course of a bunch of releases. Often categorized as some '80s-pop-experimental-rap fusion, they certainly have cultivated an original sound. With The Forcefield Kids, Passage continues this style choice. Totally self-produced, Passage depends heavily on humming synths and an arsenal of varied drums. The problem with this is the indistinguishable factor. It's hard to fully develop a song when they're all meshing into one another. The fact that only two songs exceed the three minute mark doesn't help the situation. Passage does conquer this problem when he decides to let loose his vocal cords and sing his heart out.
Passage has proven himself as an admirable singer just as much, if not more, as he has proven himself as a rapper. On "Old Aunt Mary," his frail singing and acoustic approach works wonders. The track is not as dense and distinguishes itself from the rest of the album's clutter. The same goes for the short brilliance of "19911," which begs to be lengthened. The guitar gets pulled out of the case for "Suffragette" as well. These three songs are standouts on the album, making it quite clear that this is Passage's strongest area of expertise.
Another triumph on this album lies in Passage's lyrical content. Choosing topics that deviate from many of his Anticon comrades, Passage drops a number of memorable lines, all encompassing an overall feel of loss and vulnerability. Not to say much of Anticon doesn't dwell in these fields as well, but Passage inflicts his own 1986 fat kid twist on it. Childhood isolation and perspective appear to be subjects that Passage holds dear to him. The album ends strong with the Nosdam-esque "Poem2thehospital" and "Pail of air," another guitar-driven sung number. For Passage's first official solo venture, The Forcefield Kids is not at all a bad showing; yet in his all-out singing songs and acoustic-based diatribes, there's untapped greatness that is just dying to come up for air.
Passage has proven himself as an admirable singer just as much, if not more, as he has proven himself as a rapper. On "Old Aunt Mary," his frail singing and acoustic approach works wonders. The track is not as dense and distinguishes itself from the rest of the album's clutter. The same goes for the short brilliance of "19911," which begs to be lengthened. The guitar gets pulled out of the case for "Suffragette" as well. These three songs are standouts on the album, making it quite clear that this is Passage's strongest area of expertise.
Another triumph on this album lies in Passage's lyrical content. Choosing topics that deviate from many of his Anticon comrades, Passage drops a number of memorable lines, all encompassing an overall feel of loss and vulnerability. Not to say much of Anticon doesn't dwell in these fields as well, but Passage inflicts his own 1986 fat kid twist on it. Childhood isolation and perspective appear to be subjects that Passage holds dear to him. The album ends strong with the Nosdam-esque "Poem2thehospital" and "Pail of air," another guitar-driven sung number. For Passage's first official solo venture, The Forcefield Kids is not at all a bad showing; yet in his all-out singing songs and acoustic-based diatribes, there's untapped greatness that is just dying to come up for air.
1. Forcefield intro
2. the bio blurbs
3. Creature in the classroom
4. The pins in the bowels of the charmed design
5. Old aunt mary
6. Free luv, from left field
7. Whine money
8. The unstrung harp
9. The kareoki (sp?) kiss ass
10. Put together, play, red Ferrari calendar blob
11. Jail 4 lil' geniuses
12. Duck'n'Cover
13. 19911
14. the unspectacular whiteboy slave song
15. Spring `97
16. Suffragette
17. Reagan's chest
18. all the news that fit to print
19. Scarefilm
20. Poem2thehospital