Company [LP]

With a sound somewhere between a beat tape on the Stones Throw label and a '90s trip-hop compilation, London producer Slime creates sumptuous, swaying music that flows so freely that few rappers could ride it. Jeremiah Jae is the brave MC who attempts it here, skillfully winding in between the muted and sustained piano runs of "Patricia's Stories" and offering "She came and went like a cigarette/Blowin' in the wind, hung on minarets" because poetic and noir is what this music evokes. Singer Selah Sue pulls the producer into a more structured place as "At Sea Again" employs a solid sequencer line that causes a slight pull on the hips, but the rest of this debut album sounds like a lost Kruder & Dorfmeister remix collection, Madlib gone slightly pop, or Flume/Disclosure after a month off caffeine. Highlight "My Company" is both plush and dank as it sparkles with chimes and bubbles with bass, while "Hot Dog" with George Maple is the angelic R&B dream Sam Smith or the Weeknd chase for albums at a time. It's also a good example of how the misnamed producer enjoys putting garish titles on things that are beautiful and serene as Slime, the artist, is much more attractive, welcoming, and rewarding than his icky moniker infers. ~ David Jeffries