Having his roots planted firmly in Hip-Hop the sounds and styles of Astronautalis are an animal not so easily caged. At any point he touches upon shoegaze-laced indie rock, pulsating electronic, swampy Southern-influenced blues, and more. While Cut The Body Loose may seem like Astronautalis’s most aggressive album to date, to call it angry or pessimistic would be missing the point. Named after an aspect of a traditional New Orleans jazz funeral when the music guides grievers from heavy, insurmountable suffering to a full-on raucous celebration in the streets, Cut The Body Loose is the sonic equivalent of that same liberating process...

I have to admit that on the first play through of this album I wasn't a fan. Hip-Hop, for me is a dead genre; it's hardly moved on and its best years are behind it. but I could tell there was potential here to grow to love what Astronautalis had crafted - especially if I soaked myself in the music.

It took a few more listens, but I have to say that the time invested was worth it. The album contains 11 songs (41 min, 45 sec) and Astronautalis illustrates that Hip-Hop isn't dead; it's not out of fashion nor out of time. Cut the Body Loose shows that many genres work with Hip-Hop and it's easy to slip from one to another without losing the main Hip-Hop feel.

While I'm still not a fan of the album's opener 'Kurt Cobain' I totally love the closer 'Boiled Peanuts'. Other highlights include 'Running Away From God'; 'Guard The Flame' and 'Attila Ambrus'.

8

Nick Smithson