Unagi, Too

You may remember me posting a review of an instrumental album by producer Unagi saying, "listening to this gets me more excited to check out a vocal album."  Well, I guess he was listening, because - while he has occasionally rapped on songs before - he's just dropped his first proper vocal album where he's both the MC and producer.  Now, real quick, just in case I've got any residual influence left, I want to say: I think Special Ed and Slick Rick should record an album together.  Okay, now watch this space in 2024.

Meanwhile, back to the new Unagi LP.  It's called Terminally Eel, and the title is one of several eel puns he's named his albums after.  I actually only recently got it now because I googled the name "Unagi."  It comes from the eel in Super Mario 64.  Anyway, Terminally's an album of mostly all new songs, each of which are 100% full vocal tracks.  I say "mostly" because a few of these songs are remixes of rare vocal tracks from his past: "U Stole My Heart" is from 2009's Reinventing the Eel, "Sunshine" is from 2011's All Set and I think "Excuse Me" was an online only joint from 2021.

So if you're new to Unagi as an MC, he's got a relaxed, low key voice and simple flow you're either going to vibe with or not.  The most direct analog, I think, is mcenroe, who's always kicked a pretty similar sound.  But his subtle yet jazzy production - which, actually, is also pretty in tune with the Peanuts & Corn gang - will be harder for anyone to dismiss.  There's more of a uniformity to the sound on this LP.  We don't really get any bouncy tracks, or high energy ones.  It's smooth, cool, but when you pay attention, they're pretty hearty, with a lot of rich samples.

An underlying theme of this album is aging, specifically in Hip-Hop, and some of the conflict inherent in becoming a mature artist in a genre often known for its brashness.  But Unagi approaches this in a considerably more wry way than, say, Whirlwind D.  He definitely has a penchant for punchlines like, "stay way underground like a Thai soccer team" or "you make me feel finer than the kindest grass in the winner's circle at the Cannabis Cup."  I think he's also intentionally using dated references and creaky old school style lines like "you got me flippin' like Mary Lou Retton" or "like The Jerk with the Optigrab and the special purpose" to sort of ironically emphasize the theme of an older head out of his time.  Or maybe that's just his tastes.

He gets away with it, in part, I think because of his droll flow, where if you're not in the mood, you can just vibe to the music and glide right over 'em.  And they're all in the service of more interesting contexts.  For example, "Baystate OGs" is at once a fond ode to his home state, listing out everything it's famous for, "originators, man, you know how we're living: so old school we invented Thanksgiving. Center of the universe and you know it's all true, started basketball, volleyball and baseball, too. Indian motorcycles, guns from Smith & Wessun, cranberry juice, Dr. Seuss teach you a lesson."  But it's not afraid to cynically point out its flaws and veer into scathing take-down territory, "Boston traffic nightmare like Wes Craven... where the witch trials caused widespread hysteria: Massachusetts, it's the spirit of America."

So as you can see there, I don't mean to imply this album is all on one topic.  He's got a song about rural life in the country, a song about being an overlooked artist, a love song, cars, weed, 80s nostalgia... "Worstworld" is specifically about crises in current world events.  But even then, it's sort of from a midlife "things used to be better than this" perspective.  And even that song can't help but get a little irreverent at points ("blue versus brown: shoot now, proof later.  Now there's more dead cops than in the first Terminator").  Yeah okay, maybe it does go too far at points.  But there's a sincere melancholy in and self-deprecation when he talks about his life that keeps things from feeling too whimsical: "I love making music but don't care to promote it.  Maybe that's why nobody noticed."  The only flat-out jokey song I'd say is the final one, "Old Man Rappin," which reminds me of novelty rap records like "Geezer Rap" or "You Didn't Use Your Blinker Fool" (lyrically, not sonically), by which point I reckon he's earned a spot of unrepentant silliness.

And Terminally Eel gets the fully loved vinyl treatment.  It comes from his own 442 Records label in a color picture cover and also includes an insert with the complete lyrics and his discography.  Speaking of which, he also has a very limited edition LP release of his self-titled 2003 instrumental debut, Unagi, still available as of this writing from his bandcamp.

Kick the Tires and Light the Fires with Unagi

Here's a fun little surprise that arrived in the mail this week: Optimum Altitude, the upcoming CD by Unagi on his own 442 Records.  Who?  Unagi's a former Bay area producer now situated in Massachusetts who regularly works with Infinito 2017 of UPS and did Motion Man's Adult Situations album.  Looking him up on discogs, I see he's put out a bunch of albums over the years, primarily instrumentals, but usually with a few guests sporadically providing vocals.  Well, Optimum Altitude is a new one of those, but there are no guests this time around, it's all beats.

With that said, though, he does pepper in an awful lot of vocal samples, which help keep things jumping.  And don't get me wrong, this isn't just a beat tape cycling loops for two or three minutes per track.  This is a proper instrumental album, where each song is full of ever-changing samples and movements.  If you remember that Motion Man album, Optimum Altitude actually has a very similar tone.  There's a lot of creative choices.  Jazzy horns and a few instruments that are hard to place.  You won't recognize many of these samples, apart from the vocal ones.  For example, a fun short track called "Yo Wasteoid" pairs a classic Super Lover Cee line with a famous quote from The Breakfast Club, plus more familiar snippets from Kurtis Blow, Public Enemy (both the Bumrush the Show "Yo!" and the "Yeah, boy!"), Run DMC, Biz Markie, etc.  And there is a little bit of Schoolly D's "P.S.K." drums in that one.  But it's mostly a chunky piano loop and staccato horn stabs.

Actually, though, I found myself drawn more to the smoother tracks.  "Carver High" is a stand-out with some choice R&B vocal loops and stylish horn riffs.  "Prom Night" and "Waterfront Dining" have the kind of vibes to lull you in despite yourself.  "Say Yeah" is a good time, too, with a bouncy disco-era vibe to it.  But you know me, I really wish a lot of these tracks had some rapping on them.  Or even some scratching.  Otherwise, instrumental albums tend to leave me feeling like I've read a screenplay rather than watched a movie, even when they are more fleshed out like this one.  Personally, listening to this gets me more excited to check out a vocal album Usnagi produced, because this proves he's got the chops - there's a lot of great material here.

And hey, there's obviously a solid audience for instrumental albums.  For a lot of people, something like Endtroducing is an all-time classic.  Me, honestly, I listened to it once and put it away.  So, from that you can tell if you're in that instrumental camp or not.  And if you are, keep an ear out for this.  Unagi's been posting some Optimum Altitude tracks on his socmed already, but the full album won't be out until July.  Fifteen tracks in a full-color sleeve; I reckon it'll be available on his bandcamp in a few more weeks.