I seriously can’t believe how many great albums Mush Records is releasing to the public. If their mission is to become one of the premier underground hip-hop labels, I think they may have succeeded. They certainly garnered the attention of many hip-hop fans several years ago when they released the mind-boggling cLOUDDEAD album to a bunch of jaded hipsters. cLOUDDEAD was a record that "re-endtroduced" a lot of listeners to a sound that had truly not been explored prior to its release. Since then, there has been an even larger push for hip-hop artists/producers to (once again) take the art of sampling to a completely different level. Since it has been reported that the turntable now outsells the guitar, it’s not hard to see why this genre of music seems to be flourishing more than any other.
William Marshall, or Octavius as he prefers, is someone I have much respect for. He’s a man that not only understands the aesthetics of beats, but he is also quite capable of incorporating the endless amounts of sound that can tie together with a good beat. His latest album Audio Noir is one of the more enjoyable listens I’ve had in several months. Although I was a bit apprehensive about reviewing another hip-hop album, I must tell you that this is almost at the other end of the spectrum from hip-hop. That sure made it easy for someone who feels like he writes the same thing about every other hip-hop album. With Audio Noir, there are subtle touches of beats intermittently placed throughout several of the tracks, but not enough to even remind you of a traditional hip-hop album. Proof again of how innovative it truly is.
The first track, "Monochrome," slowly creeps in with its heavy homage to the song "Mountains Falling" on the Mulholland Drive movie soundtrack composed by Angelo Badalamenti. It’s then coupled with a wash of flange-heavy guitars that makes me wish the Cocteau Twins were still in their prime. I could actually write an entire review about this one particular song. The album stays strong and continues deeper into the cerebral darkness of hip-hop, with tracks like "Cellophane," "Vacant/Panic" and "Momentum/Parisian War Song." Imagine what Tricky would sound like if he’d had the career we all hoped he’d have. Unfortunately, he still wouldn’t be this good. The album ends with one of the most beautiful samples I’ve ever heard used in a hip-hop album. "Before You Go Away," the final track, is a song with a mesmerizing guitar riff that is gently laid behind some inaudible vocals that eventually fade out into a distant land of happiness. I usually have to listen to this one twice before letting the album go.
The bottom line is that this is the type of music I look forward to discovering. I think Octavius really has an intuitive ear for creating this type of music, and shows just exactly how far musicians can go with a heavy amount of creative intuition. It’s hard to create an album that can move against the grain, yet be done so amazingly effortless at the same time. It may be your inclination to classify this album as a hip-hop record, but the truth is that it completely breaks outside of that mold. At times, you feel as though you could be listening to something as distant as the Animal Collective or the darkness of Vidna Obmana. Whatever the case, Audio Noir is a remarkable effort and one of the most overlooked albums of 2003.
1. Monochrome
2. Surprisingly Concerned with One Another
3. Cellophane
4. Vacant/Panic
5. Momentum/Parisian War Song
6. Speed Limit
7. Sudden and Increasingly Strange Behavior
8. Artificial Sparks of the Electrical Stripping
9. Before You Go Away