Realizing that Aesop Rock produced the latest album by Felt, the sporadic side project from rappers Slug and Murs, is an awful lot like looking forward to a long-planned night out on town with two of your favorite friends only to learn at the last minute they also invited a third dude you don’t much care for. And to be sure, Aesop Rock plays the roll of the third dude well on Felt 3: A Tribute To Rosie Perez, upsetting the easy chemistry of the first two Felt albums with his cluttered, churlish production, unchanged since 2001. Why would Slug and Murs use one of alternative rap’s most stale, humorless producers for their carefree, guys-being-guys side project?
Slug and Murs are in fine formMurs in particular seems to relish the change of pace after his overworked major label debut, Murs for Presidentbut unable to sustain the party amid such doomy, miserable beats, they succumb rapping about darker topics like lost souls and drug addiction. Turns out it's impossible to make a fun, escapist record when your producer is only giving you music for an apocalypse.
