Atomic Clock

Hip-Hop album from seemingly Jamaican artist Zion I. This is harmless rap, and pretty musically orientated as well. It is full of spare beats alternated with synth. The album was carefully produced, using a wide variety of instruments and sounds. Highlights 3, 9. FCC: 11.


Foreward. Not really a song as much as a short series of office noises set to an American Beauty-esque marimba noise (0:26)

Always.Spare beat that slowly builds to horns. Confident, positive vibe. Slightly Jamaican. “Love Conquers always, gotta keep your head up.” (2:36)

*4U. Nice driving beat, occasional sounds like orchestral rock music. Decent rhymes, upbeat. (3:20)

The Sealing. Basic beat interspersed with synth punches. Ostensibly a party track. (3:12)

Signs of Light. hand claps galore falling into a relatively standard popular rap song. (3:22)

Polarity. Confrontational, pounding beat. Featured rapper is a change of pace. Chorus: “The world is made of opposites / Opposites are the world” (3:36)

Girlz. Title explains it all. Attempted seductive beat. Synth behind a high croon. Chorus sounds somewhat like Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” (3:05)

Many Styles. Raggae beat. A cheesy chorus, occasionally good rapping. Long space-like breakdown in the middle. (4:34)

*North Star. The song builds and progresses throughout the song. Complex beat. Occasionally excellent delivery of rhymes. (3:57)

The Sun Come Out. Upbeat, occasionally soulful song. The chorus is a really long soulful number, probably longer than it should be. (4:35)

Infatuation. FCC(?), Ass. Violin between a spare beat. Rapper has a rapid delivery, using quick lines followed by punches of silence. (2:35)

The History. Slow, intentionally careless delivery. Cool beat changes a little past half of the song. Song is partially about smoking weed. (2:35)

Auto Automatic. Instrumental track. Slow paced. Starts with a unique drum beat, with occasional handclaps. (2:28)


reviewed by Greg Gorraiz, 3/14/11