10/15/08
Restiform Bodies :: TV Loves You Back
Anticon
RATE: 3.5/5
Reviewed on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 by Amorn Bholsangngam
Restiform Bodies certainly sounds like the Anticon group that it is. The familiar flow of twisted words that serve as social commentary and progressive yet minimalist MPC-created beats are prevalent on all tracks on their sophomore LP, TV Loves You Back. The sonic resemblance they bear to their Anticon peers comes as no surprise, considering two of its members (vocalist/MC Passage and instrumentalist/programmer Telephone Jim Jesus) have released solo records for the Bay Area indie hip hop label. However, the trio, which is rounded out by programmer Bomarr, has managed to carve out its own identity within the roster of likeminded art-hop musicians that they've found themselves a part of. Restiform Bodies may be one of the most consistently listenable artists on the label, due in large part to their willingness to craft hooks and counterbalance with their grittiness with a well-defined melody, a welcome departure from the dissonance and discordant sounds that many Anticon artists prefer. Passage demonstrates his versatility as a vocalist throughout the record, rhyming as confidently and compellingly as he croons. The musical backdrop created by Telephone Jim Jesus and Bomarr is expectedly dark and ominous yet surprisingly playful; their electro-flavored beats and post-punk-inspired synth lines sound like the soundtrack to a post-apocalyptic dance party. TV Loves You Back is the closest to pop that Anticon may ever come, a refreshing change of pace for listeners weary of the heavy, serious musical soliloquies that the label specializes in.
Source: URB Magazine
