Sound Advice: CD Reviews - Atmosphere (Godlovesugly)

CD Review:
Overall, this is Atmosphere's most well rounded album. It has a bit of everything. From the hard rap of "Break in the Movement" and "One of a Kind" to the softer, slower tracks ("Give Me" and "Shrapnel") it shows Slug at his most complete. Although the pain he represents in "Fuck You Lucy" seems heart felt, it is a bit overdone. Lucy was a girlfriend who left Slug and at the time he hadn't got over it yet. The Lucy Ford CD was all over that subject, but with less angst.

My favourite tracks include "Hair," "Love Life" and "Shrapnel." The rap on these three songs is superior to the rest in the message it sends to the listener. "Hair," my overall favourite, is a humourous story with a strong moral. It describes a groupie who seduces Slug after they have drunk too much after a show. The way Slug describes the meeting is quite funny. He sets you up with the scene that makes you grin and then pulls it all away at the last line when He and the girl die in a car accident. Its message is obvious (don't drink and drive) but was set up in a way that shocks you.

"Love Life" is a positive song about enjoying your life during its ups and downs. "Shrapnel," which is Slug at his most emotional, tells how he feels about rapping and working at his art over the last decade.

This release is Atmosphere's best. Even though there was an increase in the profanity and blatant sexual references, Slug puts forth his best effort to date and you should check him out.

Scott D. Brown