MY DAILY DJ

Rating-4****

If you are already an atmosphere fan, then you will very happy with the dynamic duo’s latest lp. Slug & Ant take on a ‘live band’ sound this time around with much success. The live band feel makes a huge impact on this album. Over half of the songs contain live instrumentation, mainly piano and guitar-based rhythms, and a couple drop the beat completely to let Slug flow a capella with the help of a stand alone piano, guitar and/or simple snare beat. Like the Rest of Us, Puppets, and my personal favorites all feature soft piano and singing on the choruses – which often creates more of a gospel-ish feel to Slug’s rhyming. On the other hand, You, and my other favorite Me both revolve around guitar strums for a more punk-ish sort of vibe. Overall, Ant did a great job incorporating new sounds into the production of this album.

But as always, the lyrical content of this album was what really caught my ear. Most of Atmosphere’s past albums have been based on Slug rehashing his past hardships, including the familial troubles, heartache, and alienation of his youth. This project, however, presented his life in a more positive light. As represented in the title, Slug took the lemons he was given and painted them gold – and that positive vibe is demonstrated throughout the course of the album.

The other thing that made this album great for me was the storytelling. Slug has always been a great storyteller, but always dedicated the majority of his verses to his own stories. “When Life Gives You Lemons” features many more stories about other people, and makes for a very entertaining listen.

The Skinny is a story about a crack addict told metaphorically. Your Glass House is the story of an alcoholic who wakes up in a strange place, only to find out that she is in her own apartment. In Her Music Box is the story of a little girl forced to witness a dysfunctional relationship between her parents.

And Dreamer is a well-articulated song about a woman who remained positive despite the hardships she faced as a mother and woman. Whether in terms of lyrics or production, Atmosphere’s “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold” is a major accomplishment, and definitely one of the must have albums of the year.