k-os – Atlantis: Hymns for Disco
Virgin/Astralwerks (released 2/20/07)
Hip-hop/Reggae/Soul/Rock
Breakbeat and and guy with dreadlocks rhyming? Am I in London? No, I’m not, and this guy isn’t even from London, but Toronto’s k-os (né Kevin Brereton) is still going to give Roots Manuva a run for his money with Atlantis: Hymns for Disco. “Electrick Heat”, the first track, made me think the whole thing was going to be breakbeat, but even after realizing that it wasn’t, I wasn’t the least bit disappointed.
Speaking of Roots, he also has a live band for most of the album, a practice that The Roots popularized, that everyone from Mos Def to Lil Wayne is now trying. OK, maybe not Lil Wayne. Not even a live band could save that poor boy. But the band does produce a very organic feel for the music, and that complements k-os very well.
Aside from rapping well, Brereton sings too, and pretty damn well at that, as evidenced in the soul-laden “The Rain”, which sounds vintage enough to be included in a Quentin Tarantino film, while he croons in the bluesy “Highway 7”, in which he could roll with John Legend. Ever the versatile artist, he then does some dancehall stuff with “Flypaper”.
Brereton’s got a sense of humor, too, and isn’t afraid to throw that in, with the intro to “Flypaper”: “Feeling stuck? Self-loathing? Shoegazing? Pesky flies getting you down?” Take that, shoegazers!!! “Equalizer” is a fun, wacky reggae-meets-hip-hop track that feature him rapping and singing, while “Sunday Morning” is probably the most radio-friendly, if Astralwerks plans on going in that direction.
“Born to Run”, while not a Bruce Springsteen cover, does, much like “Valhalla”, feature more of a rock leaning in the vein of Bloc Party or something off of Beck’s Midnite Vultures. Atlantis: Hymns for Disco is an excellent album, and while it goes in several different directions throughout the set, it’s all held together by a mix of quality production and Brereton’s amazing talent. Hopefully it doesn’t get overlooked during the obligatory end-of-year list making.
Rating:
