Wow. After listening to PPT's
Denglish several times throughout the past 48 hours, it's still a bit difficult to understand exactly what the group has set out to do here, and it's even harder to comprehend just what this record is supposed to be. Strange artistic choices are one thing, but with PPT, it's tough to know where to begin sometimes.
One adjective that comes to mind is "ambitious." On this, their second full length, PPT brings an array of interesting, if not downright peculiar influences to the table, utilizing elements of classic funk, 80's synthpop, R&B, soul, Britpop ,D.A.I.S.Y., and contemporary backpack to create a relatively unique record full of stylistic surprises reminiscent of the eclecticism found on
De La Soul's
3 Feet High and Rising.
On paper, this is a rock critics' wet dream, of course: a hip hop party record that's full of overt nods to tasteful rock while remaining completely void of the "commercial" hip hop bling aesthetic that critics love to so smugly dismiss as "low brow." And at certain points throughout the album's 17 tracks, the formula works rather well, translating into some uniquely danceable and funky material that stacks up with many of PPT's more celebrated "alternative" rap contemporaries. But unfortunately, a permeating air of goofiness coupled with multiple instances of ill advised performances and flawed execution hold the record back as a whole, rendering
Denglish a bit too flimsy to match PPT's apparent ambition.
Things get started out well enough with "Masterbook," a banging, uptempo party track with a bouncing synth bassline and a string loop backing that almost perfectly compliments some of the most competently delivered rhymes on the record. Here, PPT demonstrates its ability to create a quality, relatively straight forward hip hop single worthy of praise, not unlike something
Dilated Peoples or some other funk friendly west coast unit might churn out if they worked with a more commercially oriented and glossy producer.
Two tracks later, "Who's That Girl" emerges as the most memorable moment on the record, with a nod to mid 80's synth R&B/electro that clearly takes inspiration from groups like
Gap Band,
Kool and the Gang, and various
New Edition solo offshoots (not to mention contemporaries like
Gnarls Barkley or even the instrumentals of
Sebastian Tellier). Immediately following is "Jubilee," another uptempo snyth funk jam that pulls from
Parliament, early
Prince and some of
Andre 3000's better moments on
The Love Below, resulting in a track that savvy Dallas DJs will certainly be able to bust out to get discerning asses moving at just about any point in the evening. Elsewhere, "Daydream" explores funk mixed with 90's britpop to surprisingly pleasing results, including a winking nod to
Slick Rick's "Children's Story."
Many of these strong moments seem to come as a result of the excellent production work of PPT's Picnic, who should really be commended for the diversity and overall quality of his tracks. The producer handles everything from new romantic synth pop to west coast cool jazz to funk to psyche with a sense of ease, warmth and instinct that you'll certainly be hard pressed to find at most hip hop studios in Dallas. Truly, it is his material that ties the record together.
Despite these strengths, however, the record takes a most unfortunate turn when the English accents make their first appearance. Yes, you read that correctly. In case you couldn't already tell from the album artwork pictured above, PPT has fixated on sort of an English psychedelic spirit on
Denglish, and while it is certainly a daring choice, it is a largely unsuccessful one. Although bits and pieces of these fake English accents appear on almost every track, and sometimes do no real harm other than being awkward, there are a few spots where the sheer goofiness of the endeavor becomes completely distracting, rendering the songs impotent at best and downright laughable at worst. "Save it for Another Day" is probably the worst offender, registering a fake cockney accent in the lead vocal performance that is on par with the chimney sweep from Mary Poppins. This comical approach to Anglophilia is obviously meant to be funny, as well as to provide some sort of loose narrative or concept for the record, but overkill sets in pretty quickly, and the mostly unfunny lyrics about tea and crumpets become awkward to the point of nearly ruining the record. And lets face it, when
Black Tie Dynasty's Cory Watson provides you with by far the least annoying approximation of a geezer (on the Pet Shop Boysesque "Love Crimes"), you might want to rethink your shtick.
Denglish obviously contains a respectable number of solid tracks that will likely earn PPT some acclaim, and rightly so. And furthermore, the group's willingness to try such a unique and unpredictable combination of sounds is admirable. However, the record's 17 tracks become tiring after a while, and given that at least a handful of these songs actually drag the record down quite a bit with unnecessary silliness, something shorter would have been much more suitable as a showcase of PPT's talents. Musical ambition is a great thing, and being goofy is pretty o.k. too, but when those two pursuits are taken to the point of getting in the way of what you're best at, it might be time to direct your ambition elsewhere.
(2.5 out of 5)
