Soso

For his first album released by someone other than his Saskatoon-based Clotheshorse Records label, rapper/producer Soso has done a little bit of tweaking. The least abrasive on the Endemik roster, Soso’s newest album is depressing, mellow emo hip-hop with nods to electronic music and indie rock. With long instrumental intros and outros to most songs, the emphasis is primarily on the production, which is a little more instrumental here than on previous albums, although I miss the sparse, sombre sounds Soso would produce for himself. Instead, he’s got Maybe Smith contributing higher pitched productions, with some assistance on drum programming from Maki, Scott Da Ros and Soso. Also, while Soso still delivers his personal narratives in his quaint, somewhat awkward spoken word flow, he also attempts a bit of singing, which sounds great when he keeps it within his range, like on the superb, twangy "Your Mom is in the Next Room.” Tinfoil on the Windows is unlikely to win Soso any new hip-hop fans but it’s bound to bring him more from other niche markets. Unfortunately, the lack of an easy to see artist name or album title on the outside cover might make this record harder to identify on the shelves.