Innocent Country

The first full-length collaboration between Quelle Chris and Chris Keys is a playful set of reflections about life and all of its troubles and disappointments, and how to cope with it all. Quelles free-flowing, conversational rhyming style meshes well with Keys vibe-heavy beats, which range from simple boom-bap loops to more unhinged, out-on-a-limb experiments. Tracks such as the posse cut We Want It Alive are testaments to the power of persistence, making gleeful observations on the path to success. Some of the albums most memorable tracks are the ones that directly deal with lifes biggest setbacks. The Ones to Watch is all about unfaithful friends who lie about you behind your back, while Murphys Law is essentially a shopping list of everything that could derail a perfectly stable life. Instead of sounding angry or on the verge of a mental breakdown, Quelle expresses his grievances in a congenial, relatable manner, making it sound like commiserating over lifes woes with your closest friends at the local watering hole. A few tracks tip closer to the dark side, however. The MF DOOM-like Madness in the Oasis is laced with sinister laughing and cartoonish, villainous voices over a spooky, shimmering organ and heavy beats. When everything else fails, Quelle turns to self-medication to ease the burdens of life, and he embellishes this concept with the gloriously demented Drugfest TooThousandToo, a roll call of narcotics set to a sour fiddle sample and bumbling drums. Saving the most profound for last, I Asked God suggests that even the Creator isnt quite clear on the meaning of life, so its up to us to get through it all and be thankful anyhow. Quelle Chris would go on to make more sharply focused albums, particularly 2019s exemplary Guns, but Innocent Country is still a solid showcase of his unique talents and insightful writing. ~ Paul Simpson