Aural Pleasure Review
Thenewno2: EP002
Published: October 5, 2011
This four-track EP from Dhani Harrison’s band is an English mélange of folk, electronica, hip-hop, and indie rock. “Wide Awake” is a just-woke-up sleeper, with Dhani’s soft vocals acting as a sedative to a brooding track that includes nuances of dubstep (whomp, whomp, whomp). If trip hop had ever gone pop, the soft ballad “Live a Lie” (with special guest Regina Spektor) would have been its poster child. However, the edgy track “Mr. President” departs from generally down-tempo EP as it features hip-hop guest vocals by the RZA, Sir Eyes, and Crisis while mixing political commentary (“Mr. President, you got the whole country in debt … I’m talking Bush, not Obama”). The song’s pHD remix is a cluster of drum ’n’ bass breaks with Dhani’s street-mode vocals turning the track into a head-nodder. Released during what marks the 10th anniversary death of George Harrison, Dhani's father, EP002 is a stimulating mashup of the past 20 years that yet avoids sounding like a train wreck.
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