Fantastic Damage (studio album) by El-P

So, El-P - Fantastic Damage. Even though El-P has been one of the pioneers of the experimental/abstract hip hop rise right after the turn of the 21st century, which I am a big fan of, I have the tendency to terribly underrate him (I even called him a poor man's Aesop Rock once). Anyway, if you wanna get more into him, I guess this is a good starting point. The lyrics are at least very good with many moments of greatness, though they are at several points let down by the delivery, which leaves a lot to be desired. Production is the album's major attraction. Fantastic Damage is the opening track. Its futuristic (I read somewhere a criticism that the beats sound "mechanical", but that's more or less the point in the context of the album) vibe introduces us to a post-apocalyptic (or rather post- 9/11) scenery ("The Fabulous structure that's coaxed out of rubbles puddles splash Mechanisms burn with beeping sounds that own their humans sold as Ruthless rounds of radio dust, Cranial mush, men get flattened out Radials spun on dusted combatant joust") that is gonna be present throughout the whole album. It seamlessly transitions to Squeegee Man Shooting which sound-wise is a straight follow up to the previous track, even though the lyrics points to a different direction and among other stuff contain a little lovely nod to his father ("Dad played jazz when he drank, it's no accident Hands on the piano and make my foot tap to it Different path, same love, dad, thanks for passing it"). Deep Space 9mm is one of the highlights of the album. It is a protest againist modern society (" Monks hung halo teach Hung by the math where the cable reach A hundred and sixty-six channels lit The train that animal shit") but for me it mainly stands out because of its super-cool sound. The next song, Tuned Mass Damper, is also one of my favorites. It sounds so manic, but at the same time it has a ghoulish charm, so to speak (" You're not promised tomorrow "). In Dead Disnee the paranoia goes on ("Slayed Bambi, sprayed his whole family"), but some of his -at first glance more style than substance- references do make a point ("But look a little closer, the jails are not empty The rabbit hole, made for the meek and re-entry You're on the wrong side of the looking glass now Paw, face it"). I have a soft spot for Back to the Future, so I couldn't possibly dislike a song named Delorean. Speaking of Aesop, their back and forth interaction is highly enjoyable. In the following sequence, I get the impression that the songwriting gets more focused and direct, showing how life on the streets provides better education than any school ( Truancy - "Went with truancy and the bad apple, and it slowly formed my spirit So when I couldn't fit the scholastic structure of my peers I didn't fear it") or the consequences of war (The Hang, The Front, The Bush And The Shit - "Corpses act animate Walk around the back yard munching on brain cabinets Sad but erratic Irregular predator with bad brain magic") or Orwell-inspired politic/social commentary (Accidents don't happen - " City life is practice, casket truancy That's the rule of you and me, brash unmasked lunacy") or reflections on technology (Stepfather Factory - "Electric doodads and whizzer apps and such to keep the munchkins entertained But get replaced by newer versions or just break down systematically"). T.O.J. is as unique as a song about a broken heart can get, followed by Dr. Hellno And The Praying Mantus, where things get kinky. Although they are not bad as individual songs -especially T.O.J.-, they don't seem to fit the general theme. Considering that the albums suffers from being too long, maybe you could make a case for omitting them. Lazerfaces' Warning has some great lines, but it's another song I could do without, as it is rather forgettable. Innocent leader is an instrumental. It makes for a very interesting listen (it's sampling David Bowie after all), but it's way too short to be properly enjoyed. It's more promising than finished product. Constellation Funk is a big one. It is so aggressive, it comes determined to get stuck in your head. In Blood, the closing track, it's family business, so it gets personal and it is always nice getting to see a softer side, but the "Do right" concept is too repetitive and gets dangerously close to the point of becoming annoying.

From LebowskiRams 05/14/2020 20:33

This sounds so ahead of its time.

Accidents Don't Happen into Stepfather Factory and TOJ is probably my favorite 3 song run on any album ever.