Sunday 16 September 2018

Collector Reviews: The Widows Son by Apathy

Apathy unites consistent and well explored themes with some incredible boom bap on his sixth solo project The Widows Son.

An extremely anticipated album, The Widows Son had been advertised even prior to his earlier releases as one of Apathy more calculated projects. As early as 2014 he has been saving material and verses for this record. Tiding over fans with EPs and other albums while he quietly crafted this one.

One of his shorter studio albums, The Widows Son is as airtight as they come. A lot of Freemason references and existential questions are put forward in this album. Those themes and topics are blending with the traditionalist and niche boom bap that Apathy generally comes with. The distinction here is we have a pretty good serving of gloomy and eerie sampling to go with them. The album is very true to Apathy and his style but is noticeably darker in parts too.

We start with "The Spellbook" produced by Apathy himself, the song kicks of with the some braggadocio and one of my favourite hooks of the album. Between the sound effects on this song and the echo effect on his vocals, you can't help but imagine some sort of seraph is being conjured with each transition and bridge here. Great banger to kick the album off with.

"Chaos" has Stu Bangas bringing some great kicks and snares around cinematic brass instruments. It's not the most vocally charged song but Apathy still brings some good vibes and wordplay here. There's more of an emphasis on kicks and snares rather than bass lines and hi hats. Even by boom bap standards Stu Bangas brought a pretty open canvas. Not a really explosive song but there's great wordplay here that I rewind for.

Our first feature comes with AG lending the second verse for "Never Fall Off". It's a very dense song with Apathy detailing history, apocalyptic warnings while bringing complex triple rhymes across his twenty-four bar verse. AG brings a larger focus on delivery and lengthening his syllables. His verse has some sweet echoes on the mix also. I like his line about reincarnation as well. There's just a whole theme of their art and their skill living on forever and the hook is one of my favourites. The score Apathy gives us is crazy too with frantic orchestra strings timed to every snare hit. Cool cuts from DJ Mekalek ride out with the beat as well.

Our title track is another Apathy beat. Drum breaks and blaring guitars blend well with the choir samples. Apathy and Ryu delineate their loyalty to the Freemason brotherhood. Both MCs detail a great a balance of defending the community and celebrating it. While it's not my favourite song on the record, it does exactly what the concept demands it to.

"The Order" was the second promotional single. I absolutely love this song. The Preemo beat drops right on the end of real dark skit about Gods putting humanity in their place while DJ Premier chops up that line from Honkey Kong "Ap is back murder beats get hoes there's an Ap for that." with vocal snippets of Kool Gs verse on "The Symphony". The beat transitions from piano and organs keys to really high pitched strings every four bars and back again all the while Apathy blacks out in two fierce twenty four bar verses. There's various punchlines and flow switch-ups in each verse and the snares are some of my favourite on the whole record.

The first single for the album was "Alien Weaponry" produced by Nottz. We get another really unique sound here. The beat is more complex and intricate with tumbling drums wrestling with our alien sounding lead riff. Great science fiction vibes with more skits on either end of the song. By this point in the record you're noticing the mystery of all of Apathys concepts and it propels us perfectly into the next song.

"Hypnotize" is one of the better themed songs on here. Apathys grim punchlines and sage-like flow keep the tone focused. Apathy describes all the angles of brainwashing we can experience while delving into religious and prophetic lyrics. The verses are pretty lengthy and Apathys vocabulary continues to impress. Messiah Musik composes a very simple and ominous beat as well. While it's not as explosive or manic as some others its a notable song nonetheless.

Time to flip our cassette to the second half of the album. "I Keep On" is a lot of fun. Pete Rock brings fun bass lines and sparse keys. It's minimal and groovy with a lot of space for the wordplay of Apathy and Pharoahe Monch. The two MCs give amazing flow switch ups in the first two 16' and they split the third verse. It's a welcomed break as the song isn't really focused into much of a concept. It's just some retro boom bap with lots of wordplay throughout and the talent assembled here all keep it catchy.

Another impressive one is "A View From Hell". My favourite beat on the record bursts in while Dj Eloheem cuts up a Geto Boys sample. Apathy blacks out across two lengthy and complex verses with Buckwild bringing these slamming guitar and keys. One of the most explosive songs on the record with Apathys signature style of clarity, imagery and complexity. Bars and head banging for days.

Track ten "Fist Of The North Star" is produced again by Stu Bangas. Hard drums shuffle against ghastly guitar riffs while Apathy and Diabolic flex their most gruesome punchlines. There's plenty of quotables to return to here like Apathys "I'm in the studio learning how to brew a human stew" and Diabolics line of "heads are on some bullshit like Minotaurs". Double entendres and metaphors can be found in almost every line and there a good hook for us all to chant to. Pump your fist like this!

The other song I feel a little negative about is "Stomp Rappers". Apathy and Celph Titled bring some loose Kaiju and monster themes to link with the vocal snippet in the hook. MOP bring some great energy as well. I tend to have gripes about this beat and the repetitive hook. I wish the song traded the hook at the beginning for longer verses from MOP. The song length wouldn't feel like such a slog if we skipped even one of the instrumental swells and beat drops that surround the chorus. Aside from that, on a technical level I can't find any lyrics to object too. The song is still hard just a little tired.

"Legend Of The Third Degree" brings us the last of Stu Bangas contributions to the album. A lot of the profound and existential questions come to a close on this song as Apathy details astronomy, religious artifacts and tradition. The beat is just as mysterious of a journey as the verses with distorted kicks and string sections rising and fading throughout.

Similar to tracks eight, ten and eleven, "Rise and Shine" gives us a fun break from the LPs heavier themes. Apathy arranges the beat again with great bridges and swells in the chorus. This song has one of my favourite hooks that plays perfectly into the pace of the beat. Apathy and Locksmith expressing their dismay with hip-hop trends as well as illustrating their resolve to keep pushing their own pens.

The album also ends on the most perfect note with "Obi-Wan". The song is a somber and reflective story of Apathy speaking to his father that had passed years before this album. I like the perspective of this story. It's written not from the immediate moment of his fathers passing but he writes as a man who has adapted and adjusted despite the longing to see his father again. The beat is gentle and melodic while Apathys delivery is calm reassuring. He contrasts the memories of his father with his own experiences of raising his daughter. Every word on this song says so much about grieving and loss while also realizing that his father lives through him.

Man what an album. Apathy blends some of the best contemporary boom bap with solid and well explored themes. Just when you're about to get bored of the eeriness, the record switches gears. It can be dark but knows when to transition into something fun. He blacks out on various twenty-four and thirty-two bar verses with a gauntlet of A-list producers, features and DJs. The Widows Son is tight with minimal filler, even if it is a tad niche.

Pros: Fantastic beats from Apathy and the producers he employs. Every line on this album brings vivid imagery to reality and he knows exactly what story to tell on each score. Select features contribute great angles to each concept as well. I'd even make a case that this album rivals Honkey Kong and Perestroika as one of Apathys strongest projects.

Cons: I can definitely see the spooky and existential sections of this album not being everyone's bag. With any album that sticks to the same concepts from song to song can run the risk of being tedious and The Widows Son is no exception. There are ever so slight cracks in the armour in this regard.