Categories : Music Reviews, Rap + Hip-Hop.
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Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Nathan Atnikov |
Given Atmosphere’s past artistic output, it’s easy to over-think what’s happening on their latest release When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. Lyricist Slug shifts his focus away from his usual self-obsessed ruminations for the most part, and creates a cast of less than desirable characters to populate the album. From drug addicts to pimps to struggling waitresses, Slug offers a big old “keep your head up†to all the down and outs of the world, but sacrifices a great deal of what made his previous releases so unique.
Producer Ant is also feeling adventurous here and it works, especially on lead single ‘You,’ about the aforementioned waitress, where he taps into the fractured, bass-heavy sound that carries Gnarls Barkley’s best songs. Occasionally, though, his ambition oversteps the boundaries of good taste, like on ‘Can’t Break,’ which employs no less than three separate synth tracks battling for the foreground.
When Life Gives You Lemons is at its best when Atmosphere slip into old habits, as on the admittedly sorta cheesy ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Guarantees,’ which features Slug’s more common self-introspection over an unaccompanied guitar riff.
With all of the differences in approach here, it’s easy to think that When Life Gives You Lemons is a carefully measured and purposeful step made by an always-forward-thinking band. Still, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the album – despite being pretty damn good – is just a misstep from a prolific group.
