The Family Sign

by Atmosphere

A new Atmosphere album is real cause for celebration.  I know it's been out for a while, and I've been playing it to death, but I haven't wanted to write about it before now, as I was waiting to absorb it better.

The first thing that is noticeable about this album is how Slug's storytelling has grown in leaps and bounds over the last decade.  He's moved away from his standard navel-gazing to start creating songs that tell stories about other people.  Check out 'Became', a story about a couple who have gone camping and are being pursued by a large wolf, on the literal side, but the story has a figurative meaning as well.  It's definitely not your usual hip-hop song.

In some ways, I feel like this album is lacking any stand-out songs.  When Life Gives You Lemons, their last album, had a few tracks that absolutely killed, but The Family Sign has more of a cohesive element to it, kind of like recent Roots albums, where the songs almost blend.  I'm cool with that, since I like to listen to albums as a whole, but I do wish I had a few tracks that I wanted to play over and over on their own.  The only exception to this statement is 'Something So', the second last track, which is lovely.

I love that Atmosphere has embraced a live instrument format, with the addition of Nate and Erick to the band (whoever they are).  I loved Slug and Ant's work as a team, but this has added a more nuanced and versatile feel to the group, as they have all grown into more mature and subtle artists.  Highly recommended.