When I first learned that rap duo Felt was a team-up between Murs and Slug, my curiosity was piqued. When I learned that Aesop Rock was doing production for their latest release, Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez, I was hooked in. Aesop Rock is my favorite rapper, not only because he is a great lyricist, but also because of the music under his rhymes. While Blockhead does the majority of the production on Aesop Rock’s albums, Aesop Rock can hold his own and his sound is unmistakable. No one makes beats like Aesop Rock and he creates some of the most interesting and complex rap music out there. I took a quick listen to previous Felt albums and the production overall seemed solid and pretty standard. But it was just that: pretty standard. So, needless to say, I went into this album with high expectations and I wasn’t disappointed.
The album opens with “Protagonists”, a fairly standard hype track where Murs boasts “Who made you want to rap and be independent? /It’s Felt, motherfuckers if you want to come and get it.” Though not the brightest track on the album lyrically, “Protagonists” serves as a preview of Aesop Rock’s production for the rest of the album: rock beats mixed with synths and absurd samples.
The Felt trio begin to hit their stride with the thumping “Bass for Your Truck”, which drives forward, leading into the slightly unsettling “Like You”. Next comes “Permanent Standby”, a track that proves to be one of the best on the album. The lyrics tell the tragedy of a misguided girl drifting from city to city, from drug to drug. The straightforward lyrics are laid perfectly over a relatively sparse beat, punctuated by menacing guitar feedback.
My favorite song on the album is “Ghost Dance Deluxe”, a trip off the beaten path where the guys from Felt confess their love for phantom female. Murky synths and faraway trumpets accompany Murs as he declares, “Forget material girls I need a paranormal chick from an ethereal world.”
For the rest of the album Felt moves back and forth between standard material like the hype tracks “She Sonnet” and “Felt Good”, and more interesting fare like “Henrietta Longbottom”, where Murs and Slugs trade absurd tall tales of the eponymous character. For the most part, Felt 3 is entertaining and catchy. However, Aesop Rock’s production is a bit of an acquired taste, since his beats can be too dense for their own good. An example of this is “We Have You Surrounded”, where the music is pushed way up front and almost completely drowns out the vocals.
Another issue with this album is that it is very long. At over an hour long with 21 tracks, Felt 3 can be a trial to get through, and it is probably Felt’s least accessible album. However, it definitely worth a listen to any rap connoisseur, and fans of Murs, Slug, and/or Aesop rock will certainly find something to enjoy.
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