Reid the Martian Excuses Not To Sleep Review by Gary Hill
This is a hip hop set that has a pretty decent range. There is quite a bit of electronic, house kind of sound built into the arrangements here. This is hip hop, so parental advisories are expected, and earned on quite a few songs. Overall, this is an entertaining disc that should pull in some non-hip hop fans while pleasing those who are into the genre.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Distractions
Coming in rhythmically, this works out with some great jazz and R&B vibes. It's quite a cool tune. It's short, but makes for a great opener.
Hideaway More of mix between hip hop and house music, this is good, but not as strong as the opener ways.
Way Up Earning a parental advisory, this is intriguing. It's still very much set in electronic sounds in terms of music. It's just such a cool cut. Overall it's more hip hop than it is anything else, though.
On the Fly 2
Another that earns some serious parental advisories, this is dramatic and powerful. It's so cool, really. I love the musical elements and the raps really do a great job of driving it. This really does have kind of an alien vibe to it. This is one of my favorite pieces here.
The Other Side Coming in with a sound a bit like electronic fusion, this has some classy elements at play. The chorus here is very accessible while the raps on the verse are meaty. This is another standout tune.
On the Fly
I love the jazzy element dancing around the background of this song. The rap is classy stuff, too.
Purpose Not a big change, this is just classy hip hop.
Take Care I don't like some of the modern processing on the vocals at times here. That said, those kind of bring this more into the vein of modern radio pop music. There are some pretty cool jazz meets R&B moments here, too.
Trial by Fire
More electronic based, this is quirky and pretty cool.
Real Love
Another with a bit heavy handed processing going on, this is good stuff beyond that. It's not one of the strongest pieces here, though. For that reason, I think it might have worked better in the middle of the set.
