[audio:http://www.paperthinwalls.com/file/singlereview/original/1811.mp3]
I HEART LUNG Feat. Awol One and Serengeti – Interoceans II (Jel Remix)
With its whispered intro and backwards hum, it might be hard to believe that the original “Interoceans II (Overturning)” is even more sleepy. But the track, by jazz/noise improvisers Chris Schlarb and drummer Tom Steck, finds its determined groove late in its 12 minutes. The Jel remix doesn’t have that kind of time: Awol One immediately starts with the chorus (“You built yourself a monster/Out of spare parts/And all kinds of pig hearts”) over the track’s lumbering beat and lapping ocean waves. The stereo-panned drumbeat and backwards synth line make the song a little queasy and uncomfortable, simmering under Awol’s accusations. As Awol One’s raspy and exhausted, Serengeti’s unrelenting and quick. Serengeti’s unrelenting delivery balances out Awol’s raspy talk-rap. He’s got a dozen similes for each of Awol’s metaphors, though his are inscrutable and scattershot while Awol One stays focused on an ex. Serengeti’s cut-up couplets take Awol’s chorus as a guiding principle—he sews his verse together out of spare lines, though what he builds isn’t quite as monstrous as you hope. – JESSICA SUAREZ
