Rise of the Half Moon [512x212], andrew dunham
The Black Cat x The Illest, andrew dunham
Coming at you from the collaborative craniums of two Kenyon kids, the album is GOLDBRICK, a five-song space package sent just in time for summer. While you were studying for finals, Andrew Firestone and Win Dunham were capturing in song the weightless feeling of interstellar travel, or simply a stellar chill sesh. The lunar-laced tunage has a professional, compelling sound that’ll grip you like a tractor beam. So here we go: zip up your moon suit, and don’t forget your freeze-dried ‘dro!
I first heard the duo perform at Kenyon this past year, when they opened for Danny Brown (and kinda stole the whole show), but both members have been on their music-making game for some time now. Firestone’s musical history can be gleaned if you ever see his endless treasure chest of funky instrumentals, which supplied GOLDBRICK with the space synth and bongo drum-driven tracks. Moreover, Firestone’s freestyle flow is longer than the Nile – I’ve seen the kid kick it straight for over five minutes without one misstep. (Some of this talent can be found on the album he put out last summer under the name Styrofoam.) On GOLDBRICK, Firestone is at his best as a confident, creative rhymesmith: “On some Santa Maria shit, delirious and squeamish, ocean sick, screaming… but I’m gleaming.”
Meanwhile, Win is a master of the hook. His inflection can’t be reproduced – believe me, I’ve tried – and his pitch is always on-point. All this is clear on his EP released last year, but even more so from the first soulful seconds of “Rise of the Half Moon [512x212],” the first track on GOLDBRICK. Always cool, only Win could combine “psychoactive broccoli” and “supernova shimmying” into a dancing anthem that makes you say “Damn son” every single time you hear “The Black Cat x The Illest.”
Beyond the music, GOLDBRICK is a comprehensive unit, tied together with a palpable ascetic aided by samples from Easy Rider. You can (and should) get the whole thing here. I really hope there’s more to come from these two, but until then, spark up, space out, and lift off.
