Through The Static of it All Review

April 25, 2024

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Through The Static Of It All

Strange Opposition

Sunday 5th January, 2014 by CaptainNemo | 1 Comment

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(2 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Strange Opposition, a music collective out out of Chicago consisting of Nathan Howell, Shannon Pounds, and Brian Larkin brought their most recent album “Through the Static of it All” to the looming FLH internet stronghold for a review. Together after a series of roster changes, personal issues, and general uncertainty they managed to bring a full sized LP for your ears. Admittedly their mission: to deliver an alternative to lowest-common-denominator hip hop like so many before them have done. Most of the production as I’ve seen it is in house which is refreshing and the design for cover art and packaging is done by Shannon himself as well which is also pretty rare for how polished it looks. Coming packed with their own struggle on their heels it could prove to be exactly the step they need in the direction they were hoping for. Let’s see how high they can get that denominator.

Stalked By Panic

The album kicks off with a short bouncing carnival-esque instrumental penetrated only by an impish “So Straaaaange”. It’s already clear that the rest of the album is going to be well produced, especially considering how young their career is. All that remains to be seen at this point is the meat of this hip hop album is the rapping. (3/5)

Root Of All People

I love the opening to this track, a steely synth plane stretching across the bars leading into another off beat carnie romp, and our first verse belongs to Natahan Howell who flows to compliment the beat as well as Shannon Pounds does on the second bringing the founding duo together on the chorus to deliver an aptly named low-fi edged track on the subtle violence of the human condition. (4/5)

Neck Deep In Filth

This track starts out deceptively with wispy synths and tumbles into a formidably recorded “LOOK AT MY FACE WHEN IM KILLING YOU”. Nathan and Shannon both kill it, the entire track they both maintain this animalistic tone that fuses really well with the eerie pounding beat. It’s not just unintelligent outright murderous acts either, there’s an actual psychological component to it to appreciate. Each verse merges into the chorus perfectly, coming from a 3rd person vantage of some poor assholes being accosted by the duo. Just not a place I wanna be. Impression left. (4/5)

Nothing to Say (Silent Treatment)

Some more electronic laced hip hop with some dingy guitar buried in the background, that honestly offers a lot less than the previous two tracks. There’s a lot that seems like self-hyping filler reminding me of how tired I am of hearing rappers say “Aint Shit Changed”, like it’s always a good thing. But stranger still is when it comes from someone that I would have otherwise not known. There would be no sample from which to accurately conclude the difference between Shit X and Shit Y and I would be at a loss having not known if shit had, in fact, changed. (2/5)

Pulling the Wings Off The Fly

Straight beat experiment that lends to it’s title with the fly in question begging for mercy in tired resignation across somber slow kit work and a progression of well organized and unconventional sampling. Short and sweet, one of the few times I can’t complain about a brief track that isn’t an intro or outro because it doesn’t need to bd long. Message sent and received, good job. Next track. (4/5)

Perfecting Anatomy (Better, But Not By Much)

Some eerie synth work welcome in any Metroid soundtrack surrounds cyborg themed verses tinged with gore relating to ones own imperfections. They drive the chorus hard throughout to cement your inability to forget their lyrics. But I can’t help but feel like it could have been recorded a little better, they border on being drowned out by the instrumental at times but it’s one of the things that you have to expect if you know how expensive a decent vocal recording can be to make sometimes. (3/5)

Calamity Calls

Marching into a sharp techno stomper you could easily use in any Mortal Kombat generation, this track is piloted solely by Shannon Pounds who dances his lines across the measures with precision and gusto. Lyricism as it has up until now has been pretty on point. The dude actually uses literary elements when he writes. It’s sad that taking time on your lines is a commendable thing but kudos all the same. Despite sounding like this track was intended as a club buster, the next track achieves that end a bit better. (3/5)

Crazy Calm

This by far is the track that stayed with me out of them all. Another project entirely of Nathan and Shannon, I can’t help but love the line “Sodom & Gomorrah the merrier” in a solid head rocker. Both of these guys emote so well the way they need to where it’s appropriate and as the piece marches into oblivion it just makes you wanna march right along with it. Right over left to the heavy kicks and snares, it had me repeating its lines while i worked and that’s an indicator on it’s own. (5/5)

Lights And Beams (Disappearing Act)

The beat relaxes off of the last track into an echoing piano chime. The lofty sound to the track cradles lyrics resembling depression and eventually surrendering to suicide giving the piano a bit more weight as the piece progresses. “Watch Me, Watch Me, Watch Me Disappear” could sound more at home on a track about just vacating hate but when it’s to that result it strikes you in the chest a different way. This also marks Brian Larkins first vocal efforts of the album on the second verse and he doesn’t disappoint in the least, hitting the suicide lines in particular with the right kinda tone. (3/5)

Right Below Fortitude (Fork Lift Remix)

I feel like this track could have been better if the beat wasn’t so severely overpowering the vocals to a point where I can’t always make out what they’re saying. Kinda defeats the purpose. (2/5)

Doom Box Plus

Another track where they’ve dug out cyber cemetary sounds welcome coming from a rotting zip drive. I like when it strips down to these cold chimes and then picks back up into the sinister sounds again, Brian did great on the beat. His lines on the other hand were delivered awkwardly and the way he emphasized his rhymes was unnecessarily emphatic but Shannon saved it with his lines on the finish. (3/5)

Cold Sweat

We walk into droning organs and muted kicks and Brian Larkin’s solo track that completely forgives his work in the track previous. He paces slowly at first and then dumps the clutch on beat like a damn pro on a quickening drum pattern. Another powerful track in spite of it’s swift end that will be welcome in my headphones for a while. (4/5)

Attacked By Panic

This track opens to steady picking bass and overblown guitar, but the thing that I can’t escape is these shrill high pitched tones lining a generally chaotic beat. If there was a problem with this track I’d have to say it needs to be rethought. Once again, the writing is just fine but it just doesn’t fit into an already overcrowded unrefined instrumental. It’s hard to hear someone talk when a 5 year old is in the same room discovering his first kazoo. (2/5)

Eat Reprocessed People

Opening to some airy glitch this piece is shared between Nathan Howell and occasional collaborator/pseudo-member Trix. They volley their lines back and forth venting some serious anguish in a way that only Stange Opposition can. Though Nathan’s particular harsh tone doesn’t seem to fit as well with the tone of the lyrics or the otherwise softer beat as they stand. (3/5)

But A Being

Opening with distant disarming pads echoing from raves past is the albums closer and it’s a whopper. It the kind the slowly builds in your core thanks especially to Shannon’s opening verses. Brian’s production was zen, the shallow falls and lengthy hope filled rises enriched by his and Shannon’s bars about vulnerability in your flaws and achieveing in spite them. It all culminates into a piece that really resonates with you long after it’s over reflecting on your own humanity.(5/5)

Doing these reviews sometimes you have to trudge through a lot of the same arid shitty terrain but it’s projects like these that spring a shit-free oasis of music in otherwise unforgiving territory. Though the album has amatuerism sprinkled throughout with minor engineering errors, rapping off-beat, lazy writing, all those spots are negligible in the bigger picture. It’s enough to definitely say that Strange Opposition has a niche and one worth paying very close attention too. Brings to mind all the stuff Waddy Jones did before he got famous.