Adventure Time
Dreams Of Water Themes
(Plug Research)
Adventure Time is a fun little (13 tracks and 33 minutes) side-project of Daedelus and Frosty, two artists who are both known well for their individual talents. Daedelus has not only released full-lengths on Plug Research and Phthalo, but has been remixed by Madlib, Prefuse 73, Anti Pop Consortium, and Venetian Snares along with being nominated twice for best turntablist by the LA Weekly Music Awards. Frosty is the founder of the radio station dublab.com (who released the excellent Freeways compilation just over a year ago) and a celebrated producer and writer for XLR8R.
Adventure Time is a mash of different styles, and they mostly work well on the short release. The disc opens with the jazzed-out downtempo of "The Age Of Aquariums" before dropping the more hip-hop flavored "Whetting Whistles," which includes some great vocals by Pigeon John (of LA hip hop collective LA Symphony) while "Water Signs" drops a bit of 70's funk via middle-east inspired weirdness (think Isaac Hayes versus Bollywood over chuggy beats).
"Eel Sand Witch" drops even more odd fun, mixing mouth harp with sitar loops, piano, and super chunky beats that thump the whole thing home. "Sent From Sandy Shores" brings things a little more down-to-earth with another string loop and flute laced downtempo track that features vocals by both Saul Williams and Mia Doi Todd. It's one of the best tracks on the entire release, and is one track that actually paints a nice picture of the water theme that the duo seems like they're trying to convey on the release.
The biggest problem with the release is that it simply goes all over the place. Despite a strong international flavor that includes middle eastern and Brazilian influences mixed together with a pastiche of hip-hop, dub, and even breakbeat. "General Midi Vs. Rusty 4eyes" is a hilarous track that sounds like it could have come from a Ninja Tune outtake, while "Girl Of The Well" is a lumbering track featuring samples of kids singing and cut-up sitar. All in all, it's a fun little disc with plenty of nice moments, but considering who's involved, it feels like a little bit of a letdown. Despite a few samples of water splashing, the aquatic theme itself is a smidge of a stretch, although the Adventure Time moniker definitely captures the international feel of the influences contained within.
Rating: 6.75
