MUSIC REVIEWS
Atmosphere - You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having
Josh Brown
“Fuck a classic album, give my life five mics” - Slug, of Atmosphere
With that one quote from their new album, “You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having,” rapper Slug’s mentality going into this album is made perfectly clear. He isn’t trying to win awards or get good reviews from half-assed magazines. He thinks his life is interesting enough to be put on record, judged, critiqued and explained. And by the 13 tracks gracing this highly anticipated album, the fans are treated to new sides of Slug never before known.
With help from his partner in crime, producer ANT, Slug puts his life on blast, seemingly moving past the “Fuck You Lucy” stage and growing up within the gritty, gloomy beats ANT so delicately lays down. As opposed to their last effort, where they teamed up with MURS to create the Felt 2 album, this new album isn’t upbeat, doesn’t have a party feel to it, and definitely shows the flip side of his persona.
The album, “You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having” is clearly an ironic title, as Slug details the shit going through his head, weighing heavily on his thoughts, and bringing his mood down. On the track, “The Night,” Slug describes the rape and murder of a 16 year old fan that happened at one of his shows. “She was 16/ another young angel with clipped wings/ she came to the shows/ but I never even met her/ didn’t even know she was listening” he raps, before explaining how much of a tragedy it actually was.
Slug also talks about his addictions, such as on the song “Say Hey There,” where he raps, “It’s an addiction bound to stick around/ ‘cause a junkie won’t bounce ‘till he hits the ground/ these drugs aint as good as we wish they were/ this buzz doesn’t keep us from missing her.” Also, the track “Pour Me Another,” is all about his drinking problem, and how he is handling, ending with the line, “Or I can just keep drinking ‘till I sober up.” Slug also addresses his smoking problem on a couple different occasions, saying “Too many cigarettes messin’ up your voice,” referring to himself on the final track of the album, “Little Man.”
That same song, he addresses two people he hasn’t really mentioned much in his songs before, but obviously play a significant role in his music: his son and his dad. On the “Lucy Ford” album, Slug says in one of the songs, “My son thinks I’m the coolest thing in the world/ ‘cause he’s still too young to fall in love with girls.” Well on this latest album, on “Little Man,” Slug talks directly to his son, mentioning he wishes he was there for him more, but he is proud as can be of how he is growing up. The one line that struck me from that verse was, “I watch the way you try to make your mom happy/ daddy learned that from you/ you’re supposed to learn that from daddy.” Also on the track, he sends a verse out to his father, who he doesn’t seem to keep in touch with much.
This album is the follow up to their last official “new” album, Seven’s Travels, which didn’t fair so well with the fans or the reviewers, mainly because they strayed away from the sound that drew the fans in the first place. As a follow up album, “You Can’t Imagine” definitely will make people move past the frustration with “Seven’s Travels.”
While their sound is ever changing, they go back to their roots with this album, and prove that it really is just about making music, as they go a whole album without a skit or a guest appearance, which is simply the norm for Atmosphere.
Will this album get any mainstream love? No, of course not. But for all the fans who have been following the twisted path through Slug’s head and memory throughout Atmosphere’s previous albums, this new joint is a perfect compliment to who they are, what they stand for, and what they are all about.
You can give their self expression five mics. As for the album, it doesn’t quite reach the quality of “The Lucy Ford LP,” but who cares? Just pour another drink and enjoy the continuing journey through the Atmosphere.
