For audiophiles, these tics might be off-putting. But the tools will be familiar to fans of Earl and MIKEcollaborators of Smith‘s who similarly smudge their music with hazy samples and reverb. Smith pushes on these elements until their fuzzed-out texture dominates the soundscape. The most direct comparison would be the beat tapes of Knxwledge and Clams Casinoor the whispery world of MERCZONE (Smith and Mercury have a few songs together). But you could also see Smith’s mumble rap chants as a lo-fi counterpart to the noise rap currently en vogue with That and OsamaSonsacrificing sonic fidelity to build up towering walls of sound.
Through it all, Smith’s rippling cadences and penchant for repetition seamlessly meld together, mesmerizing on softer jams like “CREMATE” and “NO ACT,” and counterbalancing harder knocking tracks like “LESSONS” and “WALK THE PLANK.” There’s a deliberate effort to vary his vocal approach on each song, so even when two loops or cadences are clearly related, they’re more like cousins than twins. That attention to detail keeps WANT from lapsing into monotony and gives the album a touch more range than its 32-minute runtime might suggest.
