Weekly Release Spotlight: Themselves
Posted on 12/21/2009
Themselves
CrownsDown
[anticon.]
There's no mistaking an Anticon label release. As In The Red instantly suggests dirty garage-pop and Bloodshot Records is synonymous with alt-country and roots music, Anticon not only brings to mind unconventional hip hop and electronic music; it has become its own genre. The label encompasses artists from all over the electronic spectrum, ranging from the low-fi bedroom beats of Dosh and Bracken to the frenzied synth cyclones of Tobacco and disturbing vignettes of Why?, yet is always recognizable. Anticon collective members Doseone (Adam Drucker) and Jel (Jeffrey Logan), the duo that comprise Themselves, have been creating anxious, angular hip hop on and off for the label since the late 1990s. And just like Yoni Wolf's creepy, nasal voice is soothing to Why? fans, Themselves' schizophrenic masterpieces can at first come off as insane, but it's an insanity that will intrigue rather than deter.
While Wolf has always been a poster boy of sorts for this distinctive label, even the casual Anticon listener would instantly recognize Doseone's voice. Along with Jel, he is a member of the non-Anticon band Subtle, and both collaborate frequently with just about everyone in the San Francisco Bay area. Their collaboration as Themselves is a rare one, where it almost seems as if the two forget they are on the same team and decide to battle each other – yet both somehow win. Doseone's high-pitched, robotic vocals (be warned – I'm pretty sure there's a little Auto-Tune on at least one song) sprint to keep pace with Jel's frenetic beats. Or maybe it's the other way around. From the opening tracks, "Back II Burn" and "Oversleeping," Doseone and Jel pull the listener into the ring with them, only pausing to rest on the slower, more thoughtful "Roman is as Roman Does" and "Deadcatclear II."
While Themselves may never be the slick hip hop that everyone can like and nobody has to think about, what else would you expect from a label that has made a name for itself releasing innovative and sometimes challenging artists? Doseone's striking voice and Jel's hollow-yet-emotive beats (often evoking DJ Shadow's work with UNKLE) are confrontational and sometimes hard to swallow, but put them together and it makes perfect sense.
Stream: Themselves - Roman is as Roman Does
Written by Dana Raidt, Radio K volunteer.