Jim’s Pool Room are a coalition of talented Hip Hop MCs, DJs, & Producers from St. Louis, MO to Boston, MA. ‘Gut slang’ was created in just 3 days in St. Louis. An unbelievably short period of time for such a layered piece of work. It is thoroughly ear catching and will have you reaching for the repeat button.
Jim’s Pool Room are riding the wave of brilliance in this new Beat Tape released on 20th June 2018. It is predominantly hip hop in nature which, really does not describe the sound well enough. There are clear jazz, reggae and R&B felt throughout the 12 superbly crafted tracks.
‘Gut Slang’ opens with an incredibly strong tune ‘Get Coz’d’. It is filled with warm summer beats, excellent samples and the classic 90’s hip hop boom bap rhythm. The high hats have been mixed to the right and all of the instrumentation finds its place on the audio spectrum perfectly. ‘Swipe Right’ follows (reference to a certain dating site?) has hopeful sounding synths, warm bass and rattly snare. The whole sound is BIG and screams ‘SUMMER’! There is a laser sound in place of the snare and climbing synths building the track slowly all make for an interesting and ear catching tune.
Our other favourite tracks are, ‘It Will All Be Over’, this has an R’n’B feel to it with organs and sweet sampled vocals. The guitar has been mixed to the right and it falls into a luscious groove. ‘Something Classic’ has a drum beat opening first 8 bars which is a deviation to the openings we have previously heard. The drum sound is of rawer sounding kit, this is juxtaposed to the other kits which have been produced to sound more polished. We love this as it offers diversity and variety. The track also boasts magnificent climbing trumpets coming in and out through out. There are wind chimes to be heard and the kick drum drive the track throughout it has a heavy use of double kicks sounding like a heartbeat.
‘Breaker Box’ is another classic, it has claps and syncopated rhythms galore. The vocals have been chosen and sampled to perfection. All of this is accompanied by lush trumpets and the feel builds and builds to a rewarding climax.
‘The Dope’ is the closing tune. It has cleverly sampled conversation, engrossing drums and canned laughter. This all add to the charm and interest. There is a guitar solo snippet and a muted kick which again is different to anything previously heard making it sound fresh.
One thing which struck us is, each time we listened ‘Gut Slang’ we heard something new. There is a lot going on but it has been cleverly constructed and it all works cohesively together. Each listen you will hear something new that you probably missed the previous time. Thus, ensuring you are always kept entertained and discover something new.
So what are you waiting for? Listening to this fresh Beat Tape today!
Reviewed by FVReviews June 2018
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