Forrest Day - Forrest Day
Record Label: Ninth Street Opus Records
Release Date: Oct. 11, 2011
Idiosyncratic. Original. Novel. Call it whatever you like, but let this be known: Bay Area musician Forrest Day is easily one of the most captivating individuals the cultural-rich locale has ever produced. Yes, ever. Throw him in the mix with RHCP, Sublime, Jane's Addiction and Green Day, this genre-bending wizard is something else altogether. Self described as indie-soul-experimental, Day is a musician with more swagger than most hip-hop artists and more melodic flair than most chart-toppers. There's a dash of reggae, jazz, rap and rock that is indubitably unique and nothing short of mesmerizing. On his eponymous 14-song album there's boat loads of bravado, bluster and brilliance. And hot damn is it something.
Whether its the hyper-kinetic "Meds," or the blistering "Everybody's F---- With My Mind," Day has a flair for the histrionic that borders on vaudevillian. Equal pats flamboyant, provocative and charismatic, there's something definitively captivating about every word. With a penchant for hip-hop, Day breezes through his verses with an uber-swift tongue and some of the year's wittiest rhymes.
Biting, sardonic, and brutally frank, he tackles personal calamity with some of the most refreshing songs released this year. On album opener "Sleepwalk," or the flagrant "River Rat," he blisters along at a pace that is dizzying, inviting and enveloping. On the swirly chamber pop piece "It's Just Me," he tackles conventional singing with aplomb. Truth be told, if there's any negative about Forrest Day, it's that he doesn't attempt to sing conventionally more regularly.
In the end, songs like the pensive "If You Do," the witty "Hoarders," and the cheeky "Assholes," tower above anything else in the singer-songwriter genre. Moreover, they announce the arrival of a rare and unshakeable new California talent. Laden with horns, organs, guitars and a dynamic rhythm section, Forrest Day oozes with a panache and polish not often seen from a relative unknown. If this is just the beginning, then Forrest Day's future is as bright as the California sun.
I know, and sadly you're the only person to think so.
This is the first time I've heard of this band. I'm not a huge fan of rap but these beats are really good, lyrics are witty, and his flow is sick. Reminds me of El-P or Flobots with a hint of sublime.
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