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Sayre & Samix represent Lost and Found Generation out of California, and
One Side Away serves as our introduction to these two artists. Sayre
utilizes an off-beat attacking flow right from the first cut "Backwards
Binoculars". His voice slices expertly through the finely-crafted kick
drum/violin based track dropped by Samix. "Music
For Frat Boys To Dance To" is basically Sayre & Samix venting about
people always wanting "something to dance to" as well as the lack of
originality and individuality in the industry. The beginning of the song
pretty much sums it up;
"Every morning I wake up hoping to God that it'll be different/every
night I go to bed pissed off because it isn't."
Sayre spits venom over a hard drum track with subtle sampling. It only gets
more ridiculous on "Salvador Dali" where Sayre spits at an incredible pace
over a fast, hard-pounding track from Samix. The first half of the EP is
definitely strong both in terms of lyrics as well as production.
Unfortunately most of the second half falls prey to the very flaws that
Sayre was condemning other artists for earlier on. Tracks like "John
Stienbeck", "Time To Reexamine", "Feather Part 1" and "Feather Part 2" show
the shortcomings of this release. These tracks lack the focus and the impact
of the first few tracks because Sayre spits about the same topics, namely
the fad-following nature of many musicians and consumers as well as a lack
of originality and creativity in hip-hop. While these are valid points, he
doesn't really come at them in a innovative way, leaving the listener
feeling flat after the first few tracks. The production on these tracks is
also lacking save "The Feather Part 2" which mixes some solid sampling with
an interesting drum track. However those who listen through these soft spots
will be rewarded for their efforts because the jewel of the album is
definitely "To
Journey", the albums final track. Featuring musicians Mani Vafaei (sax)
and Jon Bush (guitar/drums/bass) it paints an audio picture that's depth is
not matched by many releases in recent memory.
Generally speaking this is a solid, though not spectacular debut outing.
Sayre possesses a strong flow and the potential to become a very good to
great lyricist, but his subject matter isn't varied enough here to give us a
full picture of him as an MC. Samix displays a liking for strong drum-based
tracks with sparse, subtle sampling mixed in. This technique succeeds on
"Backwards Binoculars" and "Music For Frat Boys To Dance To" but it falls
short in several other spots. The experimentation with a different style of
production on "To Journey" is a definite plus, as the live instrumentation
adds a certain feel that you don't get from the rest of the album. Its
introspective laid-back feeling is refreshing, as is Sayre's switch to a
more introspective approach;
"What keeps me awake at night?/ the fear of tomorrows light?/ or the
desire to continue todays fight?/ what if I never save the world?/ what if
she finds out I already played a girl?/ look I made a pearl, but will it
ever leave my shell?/ will she ascend to heaven before she sees my hell?/ I
believe I fell, so don't react too soon/come back butterfly, I still wanna
be wrapped in your cocoon/ but if you must leave remember these things about
me/ wear them around your neck and pass them to those who doubt me"
If this track is any indication of what to expect from either of these two
then I would be very inclined to check out any work they might do.
- Cliché |
