Question: What are the two words all electronic music producers fear most?
Answer: Ah yes…how do you say…Sophomore Slump?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!
And it’s completely understandable. You work so hard in your bedroom for years gathering up all of your ideas and influences to create your debut-- a bona-fide masterwork. All of a sudden you’re the hottest artist in the underground. Then you license a track to that car company and everyone is blasting your album in their cars as they go out on Saturday night.
But time passes, the spotlight dims and you go back to the bedroom for your follow-up. And that’s where it gets all fuzzy. DJ Shadow certainly saw it coming. No wonder why he took nearly seven years to make his follow-up to Endtroducing. And you all know what happened after Private Press was released.
So can someone explain to me why Prefuse 73’s follow-up to the inventive debut Vocal Studies & Uprock Narratives is so fucking good? It’s not supposed to be this way. Vocal Studies pretty much invented glitch-hop and spawned hundreds of copy-cats. Oh, and the album was fucking great. Excellent hip-hop beats manipulated and twisted and mixed with outstanding samples and live MCs made it one of the most essential electronic releases in years.
One Word Extinguisher breaks the electronic sophomore slump because it actually builds on its predecessor’s strengths. Drum tracks run all the way through without being hidden behind a ton of cut and paste techniques. Soul, funk and jazz samples add new layers to Prefuse’s inventive use of beats.
And the guest appearances really make One Word Extinguisher shine. Diverse’s lyrical prowess is all over "Plastic," one of the strongest hip-hop tracks I’ve heard in ages. The melodic keyboard touches and rhythmic bass lines on "Uprock and Invigorate" show maturity and growth in Herren’s style with the help of Dabrye from Ghostly International fame.
So why does One Word Extinguisher break the standard and sound so great? Maybe it’s because Scott Herren is the most talented electronic producer working today. 1. The Wrong Side of Reflection
2. The End of Biters - International
3. Plastic
4. Uprock and Invigorate
5. The Color of Tempo
6. Dave's Bonus Beats
7. Detchibe
8. Altoid Addiction (Interlude)
9. Busy Signal
10. One Word Extinguisher
11. 90% of My Mind Is With You
12. Huevos With Jeff and Rony
13. Female Demands
14. Why I Love You
15. Southerners (Interlude)
16. Perverted Undertone
17. Invigorate (Interlude)
18. Choking You
19. Storm Returns
20. Trains on Top of the Game (Interlude)
21. Styles That Fade Away With a Collonade
22. Untitled
23. Untitled