The Papercut Chronicles

by

Gym Class Heroes

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I was given a copy of this album by a friend, with no previous information on what I was about to listen to. At first, I was pleasantly surprised with this- I hadn't heard a hip-hop band in a while, and The Roots haven't been quite as inventive as of late. As the album progressed though, it's original sheen wore off a bit, and I was left with mixed feelings about it. Travis is reminiscent of a Slim Kid Tre circa The Pharcyde's melancholy phase on Labcabincalifornia- just a little less charismatic. And while he's not a phenomenal emcee by any means, he's definitely not bad either. His lyrics are decent, as is his delivery (though he's no Pharaohe Monch), but he just lacks the charisma and personality to make him stand out more. As it stands, he sounds like he could be another Battle Axe Records signee and trendy subject matter like "Pillmatic" doesn't help; take that how you will. I notice a lot of reviewers here praising how refreshing the subject matter is in terms of rap today, and if all you've been exposed to is the rap they play on MTV and BET, then I guess I can't fault you. If you like this sound though, I really recommend you check out not only current rappers/rap groups who do this better such as Atmosphere (whose DJ, Mr. Dibbs, appears on the remix here), Sage Francis, Jean Grae, Blackalicious, but early 90's acts such as Souls of Mischief, The Pharcyde, Common Sense, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul etc. For example, on "Taxi Driver," Travis flips a concept that Genius/GZA from Wu-Tang Clan has been doing better since "Labels" in the mid 90's. The band itself sounds fresh at first, but after a while becomes repetitive, displaying the gap in scope between them, and say, a more adventurous and diverse hip-hop band like The Roots. The whole sparse drums/guitar thing is refreshing (it reminds me of early 90's production), but grows old quick as the formula is repeated on track after track with a few nods to modern rock and other contemporary music, but little else. One thing I always liked about early Roots material that is lacking here is they'd do things that a typical hip-hop producer either couldn't, or didn't do with an MPC (and couldn't sound as loose as they did doing it), as well as drawing from a vast array of musical influences. Whereas The Roots had a plethora of instruments at their disposal, the rather simple formula here seems magnified in comparison, and almost makes me wish for some standard production at times integrating and layering any instrument one would want to break up the monotony a little. But, as many reviewers seem to appear ignorant to hip-hop in general, this band has probably succeeded in appealing to predominately rock kids. My own personal opinion though, is if you like this album, there's a whole world of hip-hop out here that is down this alley, but executed better. I'm not trying to slam this album, or appear overly negative either- it's just a little bland and one-dimensional in general, especially considering the freedom a hip-hop band should have. It's a respectable effort for the most part, though.