Junk Science and Scott Thorough

Phoenix Down is an album that's better in theory than in practice. Scott Thorough's chip tune-hip-hop hybrid is nothing if not unique. His eight-bit beat-making is a lot of fun to listen to, and on some songs, like "Credits" and "You Could Have That," the beats and rhymes manage to come together to create joyful, steadily building works of rap brilliance. Unfortunately, most of the other songs on Phoenix Down are just exercises in wasted potential. Their nerdcore themes are too clever by half. Junk Science MC Bajae One is a competent rapper, but he gets bogged down in heavy fantasy metaphors and thoroughly outshone by guests like Homeboy Sandman on the aforementioned "You Could Have That." Phoenix Down is a decent little EP ruined by over-analysis and an obsessive need to be smart, which is too bad, because both Thorough and Junk Science are very talented.