GrievesRating: 8.5/10
Okay, enough is enough. I’ve been staring at this document for almost a month trying to write this review and I’m not really sure why. I like this album and I like Grieves. How much do I like Grieves? I like him, I like him a lot. He’s probably one of the best rappers you’ve never heard of. But for some reason I just can’t seem to put this into words. He’s melodic and moody and his type of hip-hop isn’t necessarily the kind you sing along with, but damn does it make you listen. His lyrics and tracks paint images in your head of baggy jeans, ball hats, and wearing your hood up, walking around the downtown streets of some faceless city, just trying to blend in while you work through your thoughts. Cathartic, comes to mind. Together/Apart is sort of a diary for Grieves, somewhere to work through the relationship problems that come from promoting a budding recording career and consistently being on the road. I guess that’s a common theme in blossoming artists, but Grieves never makes it sounds self-pitying, as so many do. Moody? Yes. Depressing? Hardly.
This is Grieves second studio album and, I have to admit, I haven’t had all that much experience with his first, 88 Keys and Counting. Both have come out to critical acclaim and both run along the same vein, soulful but grittier than the track polishing we’re used to hearing on so many hip hop albums nowadays. Not to say that the tracks on Together/Apart sound haphazard or even a carbon copy to his first release, Grieves is distinctive in his sound, mixing his rap with his own low raspy singing, a voice which hardly belongs to a 27 year old white boy. A blend of keys, horns, percussion, and strings, mixed with Grieves poetic and personal lyrics, it makes for the best kind of hip hop.
I could go into detail about each track, but honestly, they’re all standouts. However, I will say the first track, Light Speed, really sets the pace for the album. A low tempo track with simple hand claps in the background, the lyrics giving nod to his days from childhood and all the steps that led to the present (the present being the time he sits down to write this song, literally), “It’s so simple, Superman, trick or treat, wet socks, bike rides in the summer to the best spots, could’ve sworn I was king of the best odds.” and “Started working on things that had lost all reason, now I’m sitting with a pad, moving so fast.” Setting tempo and mood, the rest of the tracks are just as mellow and personal.
Really, I’m not sure what there’s left to say about Together/Apart. Just give a listen. Hopefully, you’ll understand what it is that leaves me at a loss for words because, again, I can’t seem to describe the feeling.
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