The third of four like-packaged
Prefuse 73
releases issued within a five-month span in 2015,
Rivington Nao Rio
-- flanked by the shorter
Forsyth Gardens
and
Every Color of Darkness
-- is the only one considered an album. Though the four releases range only from eight to 11 tracks, this surely is the most substantial one of the crop, both in terms of length and quantity of fully developed songs with vocalists. The only feature across the other three releases is
Sam Dew
on "Infrared," and it's repeated here as a central track, a glinting shuffle that, like most of the other cuts, has a warm glow and a flickering, slightly psychedelic effect. For someone who has frequently sought women for vocal contributions, it's surprising that
Guillermo Herren
opted to work here with an all-male crew, though the singers --
Dew
,
Rob Crow
, and
Helado Negro
-- yield delicate, nuanced turns that enhance the producer's intricately incised tracks. Rappers
Milo
Busdriver
add forceful contrast on "140 Jabs Interlude," an aggressive outlier that disrupts the idyllic, gently smeared settings of what surrounds it. Despite the passing of four years since the predominantly beat-less
The Only She Chapters
Herren
has not lost his touch with percussion. He reaffirms his connection to hip-hop and remains distinctive from the scores of beatmakers who have followed him. ~ Andy Kellman