If I really wanted to get creative, I could make so many different play on words regarding Busdriver‘s new studio album, Jhelli Beam. You know, like Regan Farquhar, the man behind the Los Angeles based project, began with a busload of songs, 30 to be exact, before whiting it down to the 13 set to appear on the upcoming effort. Or, maybe something like, for the followup to 2007’s RoadKillOvercoat, Farquhar rounded up a bunch of friends, such as underground battle rapper Nocando and the Islands’ Nick Thorburn, put them on a bus, and took to the studio where they would go on to share their talents.
But seeing as that all of the above examples pretty much suck, I’ll just stop while I’m ahead and finish this off by mentioning the fact that Jhelli Beam looks to be a yet another unique offering from Busdriver, featuring a smart and sassy style amidst amidst the rapper’s “legendary breath-defying flow teeters precariously on top of samples of classical music, jazz drumming and proggy guitar parts.”
Sound like your kind of thing? Pick it up beginning June 9th via ANTI-.
Jhelli Beam Tracklist:
01. Split Seconds (Between Nannies and Swamis)
02. Me-Time (with The Pulmonary Palimpsets)
03. Handfuls Of Sky
04. Scoliosis Jones
05. Least Favorite Rapper (feat. Nocando)
06. Quebec And Back
07. Do The Wop
08. World Agape
09. Manchuria (feat. Mikah-9)
10. Unsafe Sextet/Gilded Hearts of Booklovers
11. Happy Insider (feat. Nick Thorburn)
12. I’ve Always Known
13. Fishy Face (feat. John Dietrich)
Busdriver 2009 Tour Dates:
04/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Natural History Museum of Los Angles
04/10 – St. Gallen, SZ @ Palace
04/11 – Besancon, FR @ Festival des Echanges Urbains
04/15 – Strasbourg, FR @ Artefact Festival
04/16 – Lyon, FR @ Reperkusound Festival
04/17 – Fribourg, SZ @ Le Fri-Son
04/30 – Magny-le-Hongre, FR @ Le Fil 7
05/02 – La Roche-sur-Yon, FR @ Le Fuzz’ Yon
05/05 – Toulouse, FR @ Le Phare
05/06 – Paris, FR @ La Glaz’art
05/09 – Toulon, FR @ Le Megalive Festival
05/10 – Dunkirk, FR @ Les 4 Ecluses
06/06 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Roots Picnic