What happens when an underground live hip-hop band hits the big time? What happens when the frontman of Fall Out Boy starts producing emo-rap tracks? Throw in some catchy hooks, appearances by Daryl Hall, Estelle, The-Dream and Busta Rhymes and guest production by Cool & Dre and out comes "The Quilt," the latest full-length studio album from Gym Class Heroes (GCH).
This genre-melding, emo hip-hop group has come a long way from playing local festivals and graduation parties in its upstate New York hometown of Geneva. The band made its debut in 2001 with the independently-released "…For the Kids," an album they promoted by playing at the 2003 and 2004 Warped Tours. GCH's sophomore effort, "The Papercut Chronicles" (2005) featured an engaging instrumental backing to MC Travis "Schleprok" McCoy's intricately woven word play. The song "Taxi Driver" from that album drew the attention of Fall Out Boy member Patrick Stump, and he was later featured on the GCH's critically-acclaimed 2006 follow-up, "As Cruel As School Children," on which the band headed for a more production-layered pop sound. For the band's most recent album, Stump rejoined the band in the studio, playing the role of principal producer.
The album has an upbeat start with the horn-driven, piano-infused "Guilty as Charged," featuring British singer Estelle on the hook and a confident Travis McCoy boasting that he's "guilty on all charges for the dopest album of the year." This is followed up by the reggae-influenced "Drnk Txt Rmeo" and the defiant McCoy-Busta Rhymes duet "Peace Sign/Index Down," giving the disk a solid opening lineup of tracks.
Unfortunately, the momentum dies promptly with the uninspired slow jam "Like Father, Like Son (Papa's Song)," a track that combines overtly Kanye-esque piano backing with weakly sentimental and ironic lyrics. Though the pumped-up reggae/ska "Blinded By the Sun" lifts the mood briefly with its shout-out to the oft-sampled "Sunglasses at Night," the album takes an abrupt turn for the cheesy and uninteresting with the ambiguously themed "Catch Me If You Can." And don't even bother with "Cookie Jar," the club-intended single featuring The-Dream; odds are good that this over-synthesized drivel will receive far too much radio play like an irritating cross between the Black-Eyed Peas' "My Humps" and Gym Class Heroes' own "Cupid's Chokehold."
Ironically, it is the band members that stand behind frontman McCoy who truly shine on this album. For the first time, guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo's lyrics and vocals are featured prominently, in addition to his incendiary guitar work, notably on the pop ballad "Live a Little" and the guitar-driven "No Place to Run." His guitar work on the instrumental introduction to "Home" demonstrates that he's just as fast and comfortable on the fretboard as many a classic rock or metal shred-master. Drummer Matt McGinley shows off his versatility as both a rock and hip-hop drummer, incorporating intense syncopation and super-fast, tight beats, owing a lot to Questlove of preeminent live hip-hop band The Roots.
The favorable likeness breaks down, however, as soon as Travis McCoy begins to rap — with vocals and lyrics far closer to a nerdy, emo Eminem than a younger Black Thought.
Gym Class Heroes ultimately suffer on some tracks from McCoy's too-often repeated themes of infidelity, relationship struggles and his upbringing. On the whole, however, "The Quilt" showcases a diverse and entertaining patchwork of talents. Everything is there, from the stereotypical instrumentally-absent club track to the unforeseen foray into piano and guitar rock devoid of rapped lyrics. The production for the majority of the album is not nearly as obtrusive as that of the group's last album, and there is a definite sense of a return to what made Gym Class Heroes popular to begin with: an especially tight instrumental core to back up an energetic, wise-cracking and occasionally insightful MC.
