Artist: Cool Calm PeteTitle: LostRating: 3 1/2 StarsReviewed by: Starrene Rhett
Somewhere to the far left of boring, and on the border of normal lies Lost (Embedded), Cool Calm Pete’s solo debut. A trippy potpourri of cartoony sound effects and voices, obscure samples mainly taken from 70’s Korean soul music, intelligent lyrics that make you rewind and listen again, and intrinsic quirkyness, Lost is an enjoyable, 14-track Hip-Hop oddity. You can’t help but to nod or tap various body parts to the mellow beats produced by Calm Pete, Doc Strange, Snafu (of Junk Science), DJ Pre (Babbletron’s DJ), and Ed Live.
“Lost,” the title track, is a sing-songy tune laced with repetitive saxophone riffs and bongos. The song is centered about a general distaste for the way things are going in life and trying to find your way back to normalcy or through challenging situations. ”In this world famous to nameless/none of it is easy and none of it is painless,” he griped, while describing trials and tribulations that several of his peers could probably relate to. “Cloudy” is about having one of those days where nothing is going right and things are hazy. Amid the female vocalist singing soft and eerily, Portishead-style, and the piano-riff-driven haziness, he lamented, “Hand full of tricks a fist full of motivation/flailing punches swinging without hesitation/scooping around ain’t no buried treasure it’s just sunken ships and short-lived pleasures.” “Two AM,” produced by Calm Pete, is about a chick that, although attractive, has a lecherous tendency to bed men in the wee hours of the morning. While she’s taking care of several men’s carnal desires, including Pete’s, as he admitted on the track, he couldn’t help but ponder who was taking care of her since her reckless behavior made it clear that she wasn’t. Amidst the more gloomy subject matter, there is even a song about brushing your teeth. “Brush PSA” ft. Jungle Mike, is like Adult Swim meets Slick Rick. Executing a Slick Rick-like flow, the cartoony venture is a request that people brush their teeth. In a nutshell, no one kisses or even likes to talk to people with rotten teeth and/or funky breath.
Overall, Lost is an impressive departure from his group Babbletron. His lazy flow and mellow demeanor make him worthy of his name, and the mesh of music, sounds and styles is a cleverly organized hodgepodge that definitely works.