Busdriver & Radioinactive with Daedelus

"Free association can be abusive," states a sampled comedian as his monologue about the weather winds down. And while it's not the only mention of the weather on this first full-length collaboration between Busdriver and Radioinactive, it is the most revealing of them. Busdriver and Radioinactive quite simply abuse free association; Radioinactive rapidly strings similar sounding words together with the occasional word association to create a progression of interesting images. Unfortunately, Radioinactive rarely makes sense as more than a surreal dream sequence. On the other hand, Busdriver concentrates more on building fantastical stories. The Weather also enlists the help of Daedelus for production, creating music built from many children's records, with some great interludes and an experimental underground sound. There are flaws that make the album sound rushed or unprofessional, like Radioinactive's sometimes awkward flow, some failed concepts ("Glorified Hype Man") and poor sequencing ("Thousand Words" shouldn't follow the outro on "Name Forgetter," for example). However, "Fine For a Robot" is a well-executed concept with a great gargling solo by Radioinactive, while "Pen's Oil" is a political message rocking some fine party whistle and zipper sound effects supplied by Busdriver. There are also a bunch of great hooks and some fabulous whistling from Mikah 9 on "Weather Locklear." Hopefully next time around they take the project more seriously.