Souls of Mischief return with an album entirely produced by Adrian Younge. It's very good, overall, though it gets a little samey, and I wish the production were heavier. Still, all of the recommended tracks are great. The production is very competent, classic soul-music style stuff, presumably mostly with live instrumentation, since that's how Adrian Younge tends to work. I think if he'd run everything through a sampler to arrange it, it might have more grit and edge, and then I'd love it instead of just really liking it.

It's a concept album on two levels: 1) one of the crew gets kidnapped, requiring the rest of the crew to go on a mission to save him. And 2) as per the album title, it's all about experiencing the present.

Our copy is FCC clean.

RIYL: soulful hip-hop in general.


1: short (<:30) intro f/ ali shaheed muhammad from tribe
2: chill, slow snares, watery keys, strings. picks up for a bit around 1:20, then goes back to the way it was. occasional choir-ish backing vocals. the crew gets caught in the cross-fire.
3: similar vibe to the prior track, kind of a continuation of it. guest verse from busta rhymes (who seems to be playing the shooter, or at least a shooter).
4: opens with drum break and flute loop. rhodes-y keys, some shimmery long-decaying hits and some more pensive/rhythmic runs. ends with drums and funky bassline.
5: ali shaheed interlude
6: opens with growling electric organ, then drums/bass/rhodes. some strings and and some backup vocals. changes up and gets faster around 1:40. ends with an old rap city interview clip.
7: upbeat (100 bpm), funky electric bass, rhodes (occasionally with a little distortion), some horns way in the background. double-time flows. beat almost like someone replaying live something that DOOM might've made out of samples for special herbs. speeds up a bit around 2:40 and takes on a more frantic vibe. ends around 3:35 on just the bass line.
8: slows it down. funky strutting drums and bass, ghostly keys. guest spot from snoop (a very good one). title track, lyrics (hook esp) centered on the idea that the present moment is all that exists. seems like bass gets a little fuller/heavier towards the end?
9: knotty bassline, shuffling snares and cymbals and hats, occasional plinky keys. drums drop out for a bit towards the end leaving bass and vocals, then drums and keys come back. description of the villain.
10: ali shaheed interlude
11: upbeat. frantic synth keys and wah guitars in the background. sounds like it actually might have been done on a sampler/sequencer?
12: also upbeat and frantic, with piano and a bit of fuzzed out guitar. short (<1:30).
13: slower, swirling drums and guitar. rolls into interlude which mentions the hit-and-run described in the prior song.
14: begins with a bit of a start/stop feel, smooths out about a minute in, returns to the more hiccup-y feel to varying degrees at points.
15: interlude
16: slow, confident, bright. some organ later on. gearing up for the rescue mission.
17: slow rolling bass and drums with single ominous shimmery keyboard note. chorus switches up to brighter melody with sung vocals, then switches back for verses. some double-time in parts on some of the verses.
18: faster, more frantic, bouncy bass, quick drums, spaghetti western guitars in background, piano. downfall of the villain.
19: ali shaheed outro


recommended: 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 18