Mixtape - Beat Stew Vol. 4

http://proximalrecords.bandcamp.com/album/beat-stew-vol-4


First I'd like to apologize for the day late posting, I just had a really long day. That's all there really is to say on the matter. I intend on making up for it with longer reviews of potential better quality.

Second, I'd like to give a brief summary for those who don't wish to read the review of the first 9 songs. To start, this may be one of the most soundly constructed mixtapes I've ever listened to. Ever song flowed evenly into the one after it, and each song managed to be at the very least slightly different from the one preceding it keeping the album from going stale. It only makes sense that the songs from the same artist will sound very alike, which is kind of a shock after hearing the tunes from artist to artist being so different, it makes up even for that (which isn't even a flaw) by simply having amazing artist combinations. More or less, consider this a fruit salad. There are a lot of different fruits, and sure you might be insane and not like grapes by themselves, or strawberries by themselves, but you don't have to worry about that. Every fruit is paired with a damn near perfect match, if not a completely immaculate one. You might not like it regardless of that fact, but I'd put money down to say this is the best mixtape I've heard in some time now.

Moving on to the juicy bits, we look at Beat Stew Vol. 4. The first song starts the reader in the direction of the album name, expecting the album to be comprised primarily of hip-hop beats. Suddenly we transition into "Ssoon", a nice ambient track that takes me personally in the direction of racing games. Not the alt-rock heavy Burnout, but the laid back and relaxed sounds you get from things like Forza Motorsport. This might not mean a lot to some readers, but nostalgia is a big thing for me. Also, quick note, the transitions of this album were so well done that I often times had to check to make sure this wasn't the same song. "We Run the Streets" feels like RnB met Rap and decided to throw a party, leaving RnB to take care of the chorus and beat while the stage front is maintained by the flow.

The after party of "We Run the Streets" is left to the acid/funk/bitty/ambient powers that be in "Puddles". The preceding track left me believing, almost hoping, that I would be confronted with more. Little did I know that I was instead going to be left to "Puddle" into my own tier of sleepiness. But rest not for long, oh ye of little faith! For you must prepare for bitty Samiyam-esque beats in "Rectify". Much like Snubluck (who's album I recently reviewed) it is filled with sparkly bit breaks, but instead of a steady rap on top of it there lie chopped vocals and horns.

But lo and behold! The sole purpose of the horns was to lead into the rap heavy "Don't Even Exist" which is, while short, powerful. I'm going to take a moment to reiterate how good the transitions are, they're near god-like. "Like Torpedoes" the one vocal in the song is as chopped as a blender set to puree. Suddenly the bitty storms turn to "Poolside", a laid back tune that is just perfect for sitting by the pool, the sun bouncing off your chest, with the only thing wetter than the pool being the drink next to you.

What's that you say? You miss 80's elements in songs? Well ask and you shall receive! "Transitions" takes the 80's sexy vibe and uses it to fuel the cool, deep-voiced, rhymes of the same nature. Granted, when you actually listen to the lyrics it's a little bit more coarse than it sounds; however if you don't listen to them it may very well be the sexiest song ever, ever. In my opinion, the lyrics are actually... Funny, more than anything. I dunno, that's my opinion. Feel free to develop your own. "Clapsters" takes the vibe of "Transitions" and transfers it to something that could be played during the scene in Fight Club where Brad Pitt is driving the car off the road to get Edward Norton to lighten up. I can't honestly think of a better way to describe the song. It's kind of like if Matthew Dear used less vocals and more deep square sounds.

Basically from there it follows an understandable pattern. While I didn't use any of the musician's names, if you look at the link you'll see them and this will make sense: Anything with Say Uhns will have a deep seeded rap sound with the exception of the outro with Lawrence Grey, Note's raps will be sexy sounding with amusing lyrics, Wake's songs will have a sort of modernized disco sound, Benedeck will have a chillwave vibe, and the rest I leave for a very pleasant surprise.