Astronautalis - This Is Our Science

I caught Astronautalis at a SxSW show years ago. He rapped over his laptop songs, did some very good freestyling. I came home and fell in love with one of his albums. He's a rapper, to be sure. But his style strayed from straight hip-hop and he was basically rapping over indie rock music.

Andy's lyrics are very literary. Not remotely the boasting MC at all. He tells stories and explores the human condition. The title track talks about how we would live our lives differently, if given the chance. "For the rest of us with our hands on our hips, our work is never done, we are Sisyphus." He's very wordy, fitting as much in as his mouth will allow.

A fantastic mellow number questioning the morality of what comes naturally may have arrived to me just in time to be included on my own next album. "Measure The Globe" doesn't end with answers. The singer is still not sure if he's driven by goodness or evil, but is sure that there's no easy way to judge.

This isn't party jam rap. The closest he comes is with a dance music coda to the otherwise mellow "Midday Moon". A track that effortlessly compares the end of a relationship to mortality questions faced at the end of our lives. That, and the lead single shown below, which does have a very upbeat ground and a huge chorus, backed by Tegan (without Sara).

I never say this, but sometimes I think Astronautalis would serve himself better if he popped it up a little. A perfect example is "Secrets On Our Lips". An excellent romantic story of a one-time hotel fling. It starts out with a simple, poppy piano underlay. But then during the chorus he lets the drummer go nuts. It's perfect for the album, but a single remix could easily be a radio hit.

In the end, I just want to see a great artist get more of the recognition he deserves. This is another great album and I love to see another one in less than three years. (5 of 5 stars)