Grand Analog

Mood Ruff rapper Odario G. Williams has finally found his groove. Along with brother Ofield K. Willaims as DJ, and a band that includes Darcy Ataman, Damon Mitchell, Alister Johnson and Arun Chaturvedi, Grand Analog are a pleasant mix of hip-hop, dub, rock and soul that stands somewhere between planned jams and improv. Their sly wink to internet speak with songs like "LMAO,” "BRB” and "What's Good: TTYL” also reveal a sense of humour. With his smooth, easy flow, Odario touches on topics like immigration for "Get Live and Go,” a distorted mix of old school hip-hop and rock, growing up in a small town on posse cut "Small Town Boys” and the search for "Weekend Love” over a slinky ska meets rap beat. However, the album highlight is "Mixtapes: The Slow Ride,” an ode to mixtapes and the people you make them for. A smooth dub-hop track and universal subject matter will guarantee that this song makes it onto more than a few mixtapes. On the other hand, the radio-friendly space-rock turned countrified hick-hop sound of "Sittin’ On Sunday” stands out like a sore thumb and sounds like k-os or Buck 65 gone horribly wrong. We will probably all be hearing a lot more of that one. At only a year old, Grand Analog have turned out an enjoyable debut that hopefully won’t also be their last.