ATMOSPHERE, ABSTRACT RUDE, DJ RARE GROOVE
(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) It seemed like the ship sailed on Atmosphere long ago. The onetime king of the backpackers, Slug ruled the roost as an emcee that could emote with even the gentlest of emo bedwetters, and then flip it around and pound his chest with a Suicide Girl-obsessed misogynistic thump. His live show became as predictable as his sound, with a bevy of white-capped frat boys eager to show that they “got” hiphop. So what the hell happened with his latest album, the ridiculously titled When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold? It’s fantastic. Gone is the focus on his personal hang-ups, soiled relationships, and tales of on-tour sexual heroics. Instead the record is seen through the eyes of a series of interesting protagonists. The walk of shame drunken regret of “Your Glass House” (“How’d ya get from the bar to this mattress?”) is anchored by a mighty synth line and vocals by TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, and the upbeat “You” is clearly his finest work in years. The record is a grand departure from his previous style—which has grown stale in the shadow of forward thinking labelmates Brother Ali and MF Doom—and has a whole lot more live band rock to it than just a soft foundation of simplified beats. EAC

MP3:
Atmosphere - You

Photo by Dan Monick