Album Review: Pseudo Slang – We’ll Keep Looking (2009)

Album Review: Pseudo Slang – We’ll Keep Looking (2009)
Rating: 3 out of 5 Potholes

The duo of Pseudo Slang – made up of Emcee Sick, of Xtracts of Slang, and producer/rapper Tone Atlas, of Pseudo Intellectuals (get it: Pseudo Slang) – made its debut in 2004 with a project called The Catalogue. A compilation of tracks recorded between 1999 and 2004, the aptly-titled record was less an actual album and more a collection. So it only makes sense that We’ll Keep Looking feels like an album should, full of cohesion and a resonating theme. It’s just a shame that it all makes for such a tepid listen.

It’s clear from the jump, also known as “Perfect Beat”, that this isn’t bound to be an album full of bangers or emotionally-charged rapping. Instead, over a smooth jazzy beat, you hear both Sick and Atlas spit mellow rhymes. And, at first, it’s slightly off-putting just how relaxed it all sounds. Sure, the DJ Premier-inspired hook almost ignites a fire, but nothing flares up. In fact, nothing flares up at all until several songs later on “Myth of a Web-Slinger”. Atlas’s raw, yet vibrant piano-laden beat and lively rapping seemed to have knocked the snooze-button in Sick’s brain as he spits a stellar verse. And it’s not like he had nothing to say across the headnodding “Bedouin” and “Yes Doubt”, but Sick just emanates inspiration on “Myth of a Web-Slinger”. He and Atlas bring similar heat to “Walkin’”, which features a bassline that makes the track impossible to not groove to, and “Chill Out $”, a mic-passing case of slight bravado with guest A.L. Third.

But even when Pseudo Slang’s rapping hits enjoyable heights, it’s easily overpowered by Atlas’s fantastic raw, though fleshed-out, production. While that shouldn’t appear to be a problem, it slowly becomes just that as the record continues. You will find that it’s the beats and not the rhymes that capture and maintain your attention. And that’s mostly because the rapping is just so damn laidback and, in Sick’s case, off-beat. This all becomes clear when you repeat certain tracks, such as the aforementioned “Walkin’” and lead single “Broke & Copasetic”, which has the sultry Vinia Mojica on the hook. Sick and Atlas might hold their own on the mic, but it’s the latter’s talent behind the boards that holds your attention.

What We’ll Keep Looking boils down to is being yet another example of an album that’s driven mostly by its production. While it’s not necessarily bogged down by the rapping, it’s certainly not accelerated by it. And, as stated, that’s a damn shame, because this record had the chance of being a pseudo (no pun) classic full of smoky, jazz-lounge type tunes. But instead, it’s merely one that some jazz-hop fans will likely adore and others will ignore.

Download (Right Click and Save As): Pseudo Slang – “Broke & Copasetic”

Download (Right Click and Save As): Pseudo Slang – “Chill Out $”