Birdapres

To whet appetites before the release of his sophomore Peanuts & Corn album, Birdapres first drops a three-song twelve-inch on his own label, East Van Records. None of the songs are produced by Mcenroe, so it’s unlikely any will appear on the upcoming Nothing Is Cool. Instead, Stace Prints, who needs to get out more music, straps a couple of funky guitar licks to a slow and heavy drum loop on which Bird drops another slice of his life for "None Missing.” Factor is still using too much keyboard, this time on "Heatscore,” a club jam of catchy sounds and dance floor drums for Bird to floss over. And Mr. Rumble takes it back to the underground, complete with cutting, for "Kick Ass Rhymes.” City Planner Jeff Spec joins Bird for a verse each of verbal muscle flexing. All three tracks have instrumentals, and "None Missing” and "The Heatscore” get a clean edit, too. A fine introduction to Vancouver’s most underrated MC.