Album Reviews

This Is Our Science
Astronautalis - This Is Our Science
8.0
 on
Monday, November 28, 2011 - 00:00
submitted by
Laura

For the better part of a decade Minneapolis’ Astronautalis has been cranking out tunes that could be labeled hiphop, but which actually transcend that label. Take “This Is Our Science” for example, the man’s fourth album.

“Thomas Jefferson” is a brooding song with plaintive guitar wails and additional vocals by Riverboat Gamblers’ Mike Wiebe while “Measure The Globe” is one piano ballad you will not find on the new Eminem album. That is not to say that Astronatalis does not know how to spit some poignant rhymes over solid beats… he does. But he’s not afraid to take chances either, like on the poppy “Contrails” where he gets a little help from Tegan and Sara’s Tegan Quinn.

My biggest qualm with hiphop in general is that to me it’s just beats and rhymes that I can’t relate to. Astronautalis however writes songs and if all hiphop albums were like this, I’d be wearing oldschool Adidas and baggy pants as well! Check out “The River The Woods” and “Dimitri Mendelev” to become a fan of one of Minneapolis’ best kept secrets.

Tom Dumarey
Tom Dumarey

Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.