I hope people don’t find this review out of place. Hip hop is certainly a mainstream genre, right? I mean, we can all name plenty of hip hop artists even if we only know one song by each. The thing is though, just like with rock music, hip hop has an alternative side as well; artists who aren’t that popular but in the fans eyes and ears just as good, if not better.
Doing this then is our starlet P.O.S, although coming from a punk and hardcore background sees more crossover than most of his fellow comrades on Rhymesayers. Whilst previous effort ‘Never Better’ had a clearer punk influence, his latest album ‘We Don’t Even Live Here’ has more of a dance and electronic influence. However, hold your horses! Hold those horses damn good. If you enjoy P.O.S I’m pretty positive you’ll still enjoy this album.
The lyrical intellect still comes across as sharp and witty as usual whilst the usual inclusion of a real drum kit blast into life when needed. In full hip hop style there are guest inclusions from Sims and Marijuana Deathsquads as well as a certain Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame (confused at this unusual pairing? Listen to a track from their side project here.)
What sets ‘We Don’t Even Live Here’ aside from his previous releases is the electronic influence. Less guitars, more synth, basically. The thing is though, they’re played like guitars. There’s a fast noted riff like feel to these lines and listeners shouldn’t be put off by how this idea sounds on paper (or on the internet, of course) and should just take a minute to reel it in.
I mean, it’s alternative hip hop. It’s experimental and that’s what this is. It’s still P.O.S but he’s trying new things and he does them pretty damn good. What does that say though? Well, it says that he’s confident enough to try new things and not deliver the same album under a different title every two years. More importantly though this album works and that speaks more volumes. It tells us that P.O.S is a talented individual and will consistently provide no matter how he provides it.
4/5
‘We Don’t Even Live Here’ by P.O.S is out now on Rhymesayers.
P.O.S links: Website|Facebook|Twitter
Words by Mikey Brown (@MikeyMiracle)
