Quakers
first surfaced in 2012 with an epic 41-track outing featuring a cast of dozens (including
Dead Prez
,
Aloe Blacc
, and
Lyric Jones
) rhyming over gritty, nearly psychedelic beats by
Fuzzface
(aka
Portishead
's
Geoff Barrow
) and
Invada Records
cohorts
7STU7
and
Supa K
(then known as
Katalyst
). After eight years of silence,
erupted again, first with a 50-track instrumental beat tape, then with proper second album
II: The Next Wave
. Bold, heavy, retro, and futuristic, the record is laced with
Wu-Tang
samples and vinyl crackle as well as spacy sci-fi synths and vintage drum machine beats. Lyrics are provided by an extended roster of top-notch rappers from around the world, and the subject matter skews closer to the political than on the first
LP. Over the militant snares of "Double Jointed,"
the Koreatown Oddity
bluntly reflects on America's history of violence against black people and how not much has changed. On "Gun Control," which features a radical beat switch halfway through, Detroit duo
the Black Opera
express the frustration of living in a country plagued by constant gun violence. Several other Motor City emcees pop up throughout the release, including
Denmark Vessey
Nolan the Ninja
, and returning guests
Phat Kat
Guilty Simpson
. The audacious production ranges from the fuzzed-out acid rock of "Bare Essentials" (with
the Niyat
) to the trippy, spooky electro of the
Boog Brown
-starring "All of It," with a nod to old-school rap broadcasts at the beginning of the bugged-out abstraction "Radiola" (featuring
Radioactivists
).
Sampa the Great
shines on the sweetly catchy "Approach with Caution," and the mush-mouthed
Bob Banner
's "Morphine" is a brief, brassy triumph. The album's numerous interstitials are far from instrumental filler -- some of them are among the release's wildest moments, like the intercepted radio waves and explosions of "Sell Your Soul" or the manic drum fills of "One O'Clock." [The CD edition of
includes
' 2020 instrumental beat tape
Supa K: Heavy Tremors
as a bonus disc.] ~ Paul Simpson