By Odeisel
The Cool Kids are a throwback to a time when artists were self-produced and crafted their own sound, rather than draft producers of the moment to make them sound like everything else. The Mid-West representers have been sitting on their debut When Fish Ride Bicycles since they announced its pending release on their MySpace page back in 2008. After building their brand and getting endorsements during that time, the group is ready to blow. Was the album worth the wait?
The production is mostly helmed by group member Chuck Inglish. The drums bang, while ambient sound effects and synths exist throughout to add character to all the compositions. The arrangements and movement of sound on the record are fresh and new, but you can hear old school DNA beneath.
“Rush Hour Traffic” features intermittent guitar strums and bottomless bass interwoven with synth. The following track “GMC” is close in feel. The duo’s flat, Clipse-like delivery is flavored with regional inflection and leaves enough room for the beat to bang in your speakers.
“Boomin’” raises the tempo but maintains that steady thump that colors the first two tracks. Digital distortion and the femme vocals of Tennile are built for the two-step, but the pace is not fast enough to rip the club up. Inglish muffles the beat on the chorus so it sounds like you’re listening outside the party or through a wall. The gradual quickening of the album continues on the bouncy, bottom-heavy, synth-drizzled Travis Barker co-produced “Sour Apples.”
The real fun begins on the Ghostface Killah guested “Penny Hardaway.” The beat bangs and bounces with a mellow groove enhanced by flashes of sound. Ghostface’s high-pitched voice provides a stark contrast to the duo’s flat deliveries. Mr. Coles raps, “They shooting stars these ruthless bars got white girls holding they mouth, like ‘Oh My God! No he didn’t, give him a bib ‘cause he keep spitting lines and words so cold that every word’s frost-bitten.’”
Digital keys share space with the sounds of marching on “Bundle Up.” It’s a cold world so you have to stack that bread and this flaunt-heavy song makes that point clearly. Cosigner emeritus Bun B opens “Gas Station” on an off-beat, staggered pace. Eventually, the track finds its rhythm with Memphis guitars, synthy keys and muffled bottoms. The song’s charm lies in the various changes in rhythm and beat, with the rappers almost an afterthought.
The Neptunes add higher BPM’s to the album on the perfectly-placed “Get Right.” The boys are on yachts living the good life talking to captains of industry about stocks and bonds. “The girls and the boats and the birds and the bees, we’ll be here all week.” “Swimsuits” maintains that high energy with Mayer Hawthorne on the hook. These two songs are unabashed fun and lift the entire album to the next level with their energy.
Another surprise comes with the Wu-like production on the posse cut “Roll Call.” The chorus format smacks of old school Cold Crush routines, which is dope homage. Chip tha Ripper, Asher Roth and Boldy James all execute flawlessly. The Neptunes close the album out with production on the delightful “Summer Time,” a smooth groove with vocals from Maxine Ashely.
When Fish Ride Bicycles features strong production and guest appearances. It’s well put together, with pace changes and guest songs placed perfectly to avoid monotony from similar low tonal rappers on the same track. There is fun, danceable club ready tracks, performance built songs and speaker busting music here. Better lyricism with more focused songwriting, would take them even higher.
Out of 5
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