by Jessica Del Curto
Daily Lobo
Slug is spread thin, and it pains an avid fan to admit this.
The rapper Slug, or Sean Daley, who makes up one-half of the indie hip-hop group Atmosphere, just can't make 'em like he used to.
Daley, who at one time inspired young girls like me to be better writers, has unfortunately spent the last album recycling his stories and catch phrases. But there was hope for his new album, You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having. One-time fans were crossing their fingers in hopes of a Slug rebirth. No such luck.
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Daley used to make drug overdoses, breakups, and masturbation sound like a deeply spiritual experience. The tales he spun into his songs were borderline bipolar, and his tormented struggles were so raw, yet so ordinary, listeners couldn't help but feel like he was narrating their own lives.
But on his last album, Seven's Travels, Slug lost his ability to tell stories straight from his twisted soul, and started sounding like another run-of-the-mill indie MC.
Although his flow is sped up a bit on You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having, Slug spits the same stories he's been saying for years, but with less enthusiasm and desperation in his voice. The rapper used to be so good at speaking to the sensitive fans of hip-hop because he wasn't afraid to tell the stories of ex-lovers named Lucy who made him cry, or tattooed women who introduced him to punk music. But you can only speak of she-devils for so long, before Lucy-bashing starts to sound whiney.
On "Angelface," Atmosphere raps about the women he's met and the experiences he's had while touring the country. This could be a moving song if he hadn't already done it on "Free or Dead," off the Lucy Ford album, arguably his best release ever. The first time he mapped out his ex-lovers, it was clever and struck chords in the hearts of female hip-hop fans everywhere. But once is enough, and Slug has done it on every album since.
Theories as to why Slug fell off have circled among the masses of disappointed Atmosphere fans, and the most obvious seems to be lack of material. Daley, who is now over 30, has been touring for too long. MC's must learn - when your life experiences plateau, take a break. Grow a little. Atmosphere has been pumping out project after project for years now, and the incessant touring is sucking the creative juices out of him.
Ant, the reigning DJ of Atmosphere - Slug is known for changing out DJs, but Ant has been his right-hand man for the past eight years - has also lost his touch. Almost every beat on You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having sounds the same. Piano riffs, heavy bass lines, crashing cymbals. It doesn't sound anything like the old Atmosphere, which is a shame, because Ant's beats used to be a beautiful, perfect compliment to Slug's jarring revelations.
It's not all terrible on the new album. On "That Night," Slug raps about the death of Marissa Mathy-Zvaifler, who was raped and murdered in the Sunshine Theatre in Albuquerque at an Atmosphere concert two years ago. Slug was devastated over the death of the 16-year-old girl, even crying when interviewed by the Daily Lobo at the time. With a simplistic flow hollowed out of much emotion, the song is haunting. He sounds confused and sleep-deprived as he raps "That night the music died in Albuquerque." Slug's gift of giving listeners the chills returns for a moment as he says, "The sunshine's fun until it burns someone. We all got burned that night."
Another stand out is "Little Man," in which Slug writes a letter to his son, his father, and himself, thanking each one for making him who he is. Insecurities and self-loathing surface as he admits he isn't the same rapper he used to be.
Glad he noticed. Fans who study his every word recognize when Slug starts to repeat himself. A nice long break from touring is overdue.
