Yohimbe Brothers (
Vernon Reid and
DJ Logic) are back with another genre-smashing effort, this time on
Thirsty Ear and helped out by the production team of
Goodandevil (
Christian Castagno and
Danny Blume). It's got all the dense sonic detail as
Front End Lifter, and ranges just as far stylistically, but this time out there's a more serious political bent to the proceedings rather than just the good times/party aspect of their first album. They kick things off with a
dancehall-flavored number, featuring the vocals and poetry of
Latasha Natasha Diggs, then move into the
hard rock/
turntablism/
drum'n'bass concoction of
"The Secret Frequency." "More From Life" is the most direct diatribe, featuring
Traz spitting righteous rhymes aimed squarely at the GOP about some of the realities of urban life.
"TV" and
"Words They Choose" are the other incisive tunes, addressing how and where people get their news and information.
Taylor McFerrin takes a low-key but pointed approach on the atmospheric and dubby
"Words They Choose," while
Bos Omega gives a
Flava Flav-style delivery over some crunching guitar on
"TV," which also has a chorus with a monster hook and a freaky acoustic guitar solo. Other tunes like
"Noh Rio," "30 Spokes," and
"Overcoming" are mellow instrumentals (despite the wicked electric soloing on
"Overcoming"), which are further contrasted with the recurring
"Shape" interludes (consisting of acoustic guitar, tap dancing (?), and other assorted sundry "sounds"). Since
Vernon Reid is involved, of course there's plenty of guitar throughout, but
Yohimbe Brothers are more about a genre-defying thick aural stew rather than guitar grandstanding. There's way more detail to these tracks than could possibly be picked up on an initial listening, making this album a pleasure to come back to. Listen with headphones for the full effect. ~ Sean Westergaard