Alias - Resurgam: CD Review

Alias is a producer, a composer, a musician, a knob turner, a mouse clicker, and an album maker. And while he may call experimental hip-hop label Anticon home, he shows more than just an interest in that genre on his new album Resurgam. Over the course of the album's thirteen songs Alias touches on everything from Brian Eno ambiance, to hip-hop samples, techno break-beats, shoe-gaze drone, and even soundtrack worthy jubilation. Resurgam is a dense and heady album packed full of well-crafted ideas and surprising sonic eruptions. It may be almost exclusively an instrumental album, but the dull and elongated passages that tend to fill records of that sort are luckily unavailable here.

Alias opens the album with the obligatory "I'm Back" track perhaps properly entitled "New to a Few." Alias's name is spelled out while a vintage 808 beat bumps in the background like Def Jam circa '87. Soon though the track sees the addition of a number of synths and sounds until the it reaches the sort of "club track for the smart kids" sound of RJ-D2. While the song is sure to speed up some pulses, it doesn't quite exhibit the true depth of Alias's work, that comes with track two.

While "I Heart Drum Machines" may be a cute name, there is nothing quaint about the music Alias has crafted for this track. After opening with the sort of sunrise on the beach warmth of a Postal Service song, the listener is treated to funky breakdown consisting of... well, funky breakdowns. From here the song is skyrocketed into full on feel good jam. Dissipating keyboard lines drift in repeating patterns while the drums speedily pop and eventually even a xylophone joins the party. It's an exuberant collage of sounds that will have you feeling triumphant.

"Well Water Black" is the first song on the album to feature vocals and sounds all the better for it. I mean, I guess it helps if said vocals are coming courtesy of Why? front-man Yoni Wolf. Wolf manages to haunt a simple and poppy track with falsetto bursts and partially-rapped scraps. It is here that we also get to hear a bit of Alias's melodic guitar playing, which fits surprisingly well.

"Oakland Morning," "M.G. Jack," and "Prelude to a Death Watch" seem to come from a darker well of inspiration thanks to some minor key forays and, at least in the case of "Oakland Morning" and "Prelude to a Death Watch," a much more pensive delivery that skips out on pounding drums in favor of echoing mood music. Things pick back up a bit on "Death Watch" where a club-ready beat butts heads with a simple guitar line and bubbling waves of noise. Still the song does feel like it was inspired more by a sunset than a sun rise.

"Place of No More Choices" goes the ambient route again as it segues into the decidedly-positive sounding "Resurgam." At it's opening this song bounces like something A Tribe Called Quest would rap over before dropping into an acoustic guitar and tambourine coda that eventually gets the drum machine treatment. It definitely gets the party going again though after a mid-album chill out period.

After that "Autumnal" strikes out into some near R&B-like territory before we get the album's second hit of vocals on "Weathering." This time it is the sleepy croon of The One AM Radio that drifts over some dusty piano, guitar and simple percussion. It is a truly beautiful example of all that Alias is capable of doing as an artist.

"Justamachine" returns to the block-rocking we heard at the start of the album and shows just what can be done with drum programming in the hands of an expert. Finally the album closes out with the shuffling and dystopian sounding "Oakland in the Rearview."

Alias presents the listener with a long and detailed journey packed full of nuance. It is the type of record that reminds you just how good instrumental hip-hop records can be. Who knew such an array of moods could be captured by one guy and a slew of gadgets?