Posted on 07/14/2005

 

Skopic, or Max Braverman, or the world's latest genius solo bedroom producer/multi-instrumentalist, has a knack for weaseling his way out easy typecasting. He'll do the dark hip-hop instrumental thing, but quicker than you can say, "oh shit homeboy's an RJD2 clone," he'll shift into some altogether quirkier territory. His debut project has him vacillating between brooding and goofy, subdued and funky, and, besides a few slow spots, employs the (Mad) Skillz head-nod factor consistently. The initial track "Allow Me" (to introduce himself, presumably) sets up the bob-and-weave tactics. Skopic rides a strumming guitar and plaintive horns over some hi-hats, until he's ready to bump his ride into gear and throws down with a thumping drumbeat straight out of early Brand Nubian.

Not content to ride the track on the beat alone, Skopic shifts the percussive dynamics a bit, switches up the track and introduces some hyperbolic drum fills—but only as accent, not allowing his freakform to override the flowing funk of the trunk. Finally, the man reveals his secret weapon, stirring strings over that same funk n' bump track. Strings pop up all over the album: washed out spacey strings, emphatic orchestral strings, looped strings DJ Premier could be proud of.

This is not to say Skopic plays it safe with any particular gimmick. He's simultaneously at his best and worst when pushing against his boundaries. "Verbatim" begins somewhere between an orchestra and a breakbeat with wailing male vocals and heartfelt guitars that mutate the track into the Gorillaz' clever rhesus monkey cousin (though the swelling of the track into a psychedelic sound effects and horn mishmash ruin the effortless atmosphere of the first half). "Mahonis" starts as a straight-ahead thumper with some fuzzed-out bass, but takes that left turn at Albuquerque and dusts out the track with horns and vibes, ending with your usual detached vocal samples and some squelched guitar that cements the transitory nature of the music.

Some Ninja Tune electronica clichés pop up on the album: quirky vocal samples, updated porno funk of "Gloryhole", as well as a flow straining against the shifting nature of the album. Still, it's the experiments that make the album stand out. And the confidence that anchors occasional offshoots like the Latin funkiness of "Grab Bag Grammar" make it a decent bet that Skopic's second album will either be massive or crumble under his experimental impulses.

Conjecture aside, the eponymous debut shows a restraint that's admirable for a guy with such range, with most of the tracks at a lean and energetic four minute range. It's tight and it's funky, and it's a nice example of where the combinations of hip hop and breakbeat sensibilities can take us into that intergalactic party over in the Stank Nebula. Hope you got your invite.