Ever read a book with a blistering, compelling first half that only led you into the misery of a dreary, just-get-it-over-with drive to the end? This question is mostly rhetorical, I suppose, as we’ve all run into this problem, unless all you read is The Enquirer. But for argument’s sake, I’ll assume that the bulk of you dear readers have experienced this frustration with books and albums alike.
Drama by Mihara did just exactly this when I first pumped it on a warm, yet slightly overcast day. It was a perfect day for reminiscing about the past with music as a vehicle and Drama magically offered itself for the task. Right off the bat, I was transported back to that golden era of hip-hop, the jazzy-phat-nastee days of Tribe and Digable Planets and so forth. Slightly different than those early-mid '90s days on this album is a shift in sample focus from brass and woodwinds (traditionally jazz samples) to piano, strings and guitar. But the groove was not lost in this swing. In fact, “Wrong Scene” supports the groove-first mentality. It’s built around a sweet hook of '70s orchestral funk that steers my mind to the Delfonics and Staples Singers.
But just a simple funky hook is not all that ties Drama to this golden era of hip-hop. The drum sounds used in Mihara’s programming have that old analog sound pushed through a digital birthing canal that reminds me so vividly of the hip-hop luminaries of those days, such as Pete Rock and DJ Krush. While Mihara and Krush are fellow countrymen, that is not the sole reason for the comparison.
As a possible disciple of Krush, Mihara understands how to lay down a fat, chunky groove and compliment it with vibrant, yet not-overpowering ambient sounds. “Fate” rings as a descendant echo of Krush’s crusty, under-appreciated masterpiece Kakusei, with a particular nod to “Deltaforest". Despite drawing numerous links to an album ten years old, the similarity is what is refreshing; the ability to revisit a favorite time and sound through new music.
Sadly, it is with the passing of “Fate” that the album turns sour. The very next track, “Thorny”, seems like a glo-stick dance party distraction that is never properly dispatched for the remainder of the album. “Moonlight” drifts just past the jazzy-phat-nastee age and into that dreadful area of post-hip-hop RnB. Everything goes from the mental image of bedroom beats and smoky DJ sets to adult contemporary music played in the background of dinner parties for people who barely know each other.
The other real tragedy of this Drama is the fact that, while it may have elicited comparisons to DJ Krush’s Kakusei, it lacks dearly in one crucial area: whereas Kakusei was built from the balls of bass on up, Mihara has settled on a less cogent, potent attack from the low end.
If the slightly retro style of the first half of this album were coupled with a bit more crushing low-end theory, I believe it could stay in rotation long past the required time to formulate this review. It’s as if Mihara is comfortable to expose himself, his talents and his loves for the first half of the record and then quickly recedes into the shadows of his character’s own conformity and regularity with the second half. When I can only think to go back to Krush’s Kakusei, it is nearly impossible to recommend this album for serious, long-term consideration.
-Gabriel Bogart