The Roots f/ Malik B., Porn, Merecedes Martinez and Dice Raw - "I Can't Help It" (mp3)

As I wrote recently, The Roots are one of several acts in the past couple months that's released a follow-up to an album I loved. And while it's encouraging that with Rising Down they've stayed pretty close to the aesthetic of Game Theory, it's getting harder and harder to not look at the new album as a disappointing echo of that late career highlight. The murky synth-driven sound and the more foreboding mood are still there, but the number of really crappy sung hooks has seemingly doubled, and the thing just doesn't hold together that well, even without the abortion that was "Birthday Girl" included.

One thing I'm starting to miss with this album is the sprawling, indulgent Roots circa Things Fall Apart. Once you cut out the three brief snippet songs, two of which I wished were fleshed out into full compositions ("@15" works great as a snapshot of Black Thought's adolescence and an intro to "75 Bars") and the two obnoxious, boring "Pow Wow" phonecall skits that bookend the album, you've only got 10 songs, and two of the best ones made the rounds as early leaks well before the album was released. And only "I Can't Help It" comes anywhere near the 5-minute mark with an interesting voda variation. A lot of critics have (rightfully) praised the leaner, meaner Roots of the last couple albums, but I'm kind of hoping they bring a little of that jammy indulgence from the live show back. Actually, they might be overdue for another live album.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10, 2008 at 7:37 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.