13 & God:13 & God
From Your Subculture Soundtrack, the music encyclopedia
Artist: 13 & God
Date Released: May 3, 2005
Label: Anticon/Alien Transistor
Produced By:
Tracklisting:
- Low Heaven
- Men of Station
- Ghostwork
- Perfect Speed
- Afterclap
- Soft Atlas
- Tin Strong
- If
- Superman on Ice
- Walk
Review:
Collaborations can be hit or miss. This one is a very good shot at the target, but just left of the bullseye. Born during a doomed North American tour headlined by Anticon’s atmospheric free-rap trio Themselves (Doseone, Jel and Dax [who sadly was recently paralyzed in a Subtle tour bus accident]) and German glitch-pop pioneers, The Notwist, the newly meshed super-group collaborated effortlessly until they spit out what sounds like The Notwist, version 2.0. The album features a solemn and introspective sound, accompanied by pop hooks and sing-a-long choruses. It is way more grounded than most of Doseone’s stuff, and more acoustic sounding than most of The Notwist’s early music. It almost sounds like the child of a small classical symphony and an emotional electronica artist with tendency to write pop songs. The tracks, for the most part, go back and forth as far as front-man is concerned; Doseone sings on one, then Markus Archer on the next, but when they share the spotlight, the band really excels. It is an interesting album, but falls short of essential. I hope that if this is not the only collaboration between the groups, the follow-up will be a bit more experimental in a jazz sense. Michael Ardaiolo
