EP Review: Deniro Farrar & BSBD ‘Cliff of Death’
2012 may already be under wraps, but I wanted to make sure to take the opportunity to give recognition to one more release from what turned out to be one of the better years for rap music in the last decade. Cliff Of Death is a collaborative EP between North Carolina rapper Deniro Farrar and Thoughts on Tracks favorites Blue Sky Black Death. While Cliff Of Death is only a seven song EP, it is without a doubt one of the best track-for-track releases of the year.
I’ve only been vaguely familiar with Farrar’s music to this point, but it didn’t take long for him to win me over with his chilling performance throughout Cliff Of Death. Street rap is typically associated with testosterone-fueled bragging, however BSBD manages to draw emotional performances from the artists that they work with, and this EP is no exception. Right from the start with “Just In Case The World Ends” Farrar makes his perspective clear, he’s constantly trying to understand and outrun his troubled past: “Took my charge cuz the pack was mine / locked in a cell counting down the time / dropped out of school told momma all the time / that I’d go get saved but I’m always lying”.
On the almost autobiographical “This is it” Farrar plainly raps “sixteen years old I was on the block / fuck an education I was selling rocks / seventeen I bought an AK-47 / then they killed my n**** Cory hope he up in heaven…I ain’t have a childhood never played with toys / Momma did all she could but I made a choice”. Farrar’s honesty does more than just provide the perfect complement to BSBD’s contemplative production, it paints a vivid picture of what’s become an all too common modern American coming of age tale. While he may have “made a choice” it’s unfortunate that the bad choices he made were so available to him.
Farrar sounds downright soulful on “Pain” and “Can’t Take It With Me When I Die.” “Pain” features a smokey blues backdrop from BSBD and vocals from Deniro that demonstrate how his paranoia and stress have helped push him towards success. “Can’t Take It With Me When I Die” feels like the calm after the storm. It provides Farrar the opportunity to reflect on the lifestyle that brought him to the here, from an outside perspective of success: “Dropped out of school and I became a felon quick / Momma told me watch those n****s I was hanging with / I was hard headed couldn’t nobody tell me shit / all young n****s I’m a tell you this / there ain’t no love on these streets it’s a hit or miss / half the n****s selling dope never get rich / they wind up dead or in the pen now that’s that real shit.” The redemptive sound of “Can’t Take It With Me When I Die” might be a strange way to end an EP titled Cliff Of Death, but makes sense considering the emotional content of the project and ends up being an incredibly refreshing closer.
Even on songs like “Danger” and “You Ain’t A G” which sound more like traditional street bangers, Farrar’s straightforward style merges with Blue Sky Black Death’s custom tailored soundscapes to create something unique. “Hold Me Down” has the one guest feature in Nacho Picasso, and while it can stand alone as one of the best (or at least the most fun) songs from the project, it does sound a little out of place on an EP filled with introspective, confessional songs. Regardless, Cliff Of Death is easily one of my favorite EP’s of the year; a project that has simultaneously put anything with Deniro Farrar’s name on it on my radar and cemented Blue Sky Black Death as my producers of 2012. Pick up Cliff Of Death for $7 at Bandcamp.
Connect with Deniro Farrar via Facebook | Twitter
Written by John Bugbee
Fresh Track: Hang Time “Big Kids”
Hang Time is an indie pop quartet from Salt Lake City. The group just independently released its nine-track, self-titled debut earlier this month. Their sound is built around concise, pristine synth lines, driving rhythms and the buoyant wail of lead singer Will Sartain. Sartain’s vocals call to mind Albert Hammond Jr. and Van Pierszalowski of WATERS. Listen to “Big Kids” below and name your price for a digital download of their debut from Bandcamp.
Connect with Hang Time via Facebook
Written by Rob Peoni
Allah-Las visit Red Light Radio
Los Angeles garage rockers Allah-Las spent the last few weeks touring Europe. Between gigs at Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? Festival and Amsterdam’s Paradiso, the band dropped by Red Light Radio – an online radio station housed in a former prostitution window – to take over master controls for an hour-long set that showcased the band’s encyclopedic knowledge of rock’s present and past. Much has been made of the band’s formation in 2008, while three of its four members worked at longtime bastion of American musical commerce Amoeba Records in LA. Initially, it read like a convenient storyline: dudes bond over vinyl on the record industry’s most hallowed turf / dudes start band embracing the best of ’60s psychedelic garage rock / dudes cut a record / everyone loves it / The End.
Fortunately, Allah-Las LP surpasses the prosaic narrative behind its origins. The boys don’t disappoint as disc jockeys either, despite their less than magnetic on-air personalities and a fumble at the outset. Musicians are routinely asked about their influences, and we’re often fed a short list of generic responses. Here, we get to listen first hand. It’s a rare opportunity to listen to a band spin records as a group. The Allah-Las’ set leans on the oldies but peppers in a handful of new bands worth your attention as well. I was particularly taken with Gap Dream’s “Generator,” recently released on Suicide Squeeze Records. Listen to the set in its entirety below.
Connect with Red Light Radio via Facebook | Twitter
Written by Rob Peoni
Thought on Tracks 