REVIEWSAtmosphere, ‘The Family Sign’

5

• SPIN Rating:5 of 10

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Release Date: April 12, 2011
Label: Rhymesayers

On the follow-up to surprise 2008 commercial hit When Life Gives You Lemons..., cagey MC Slug and producer Ant are joined full-time by guitarist Nate Collis and keyboardist Erick Anderson, but Family Sign is a spare, solemn affair. No longer the self-obsessed antihero, Slug continues his shift to serious storyteller, but the narratives here lack coherence and detail, while the music - ominous piano, lonely guitar - feels sketchy, like partial demos. And unlike on Lemons, there are no jaunty pop hooks to lighten or balance the mood.