Send "Sole " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Plastique is a metaphysical journey as narrated by Sole and sonically juxtaposed via Skyrider's interpretations. Nearly a nihilistic anthem, the duo successfully encapsulates the darkness and travails of modern society into a less-than-double-digit track length LP, an unheard of undertaking for most of their contemporaries. Conceptually, Plastique pulls no punches in criticizing capitalistic greed, war, and almost nearly every other questionable societal miscue; but what truly is mesmerizing is Skyrider's ability to pull this all together in one cohesive composition. His experimental compositions combining soul, rock, blues, metal, and electronics really do much to reign in Sole's stream-of-consciousness, near spoken word flow; instead of meandering off into meaningless drivel, his verses instill an apocalyptic dread within you, until the bitter post-metal-esque crescendos of "Black". Compared to their self-titled debut, a lot has changed with respect to structure - again the final product here is a testament to cohesion and flow control, outclassing 2007's outing in every way and working wonders to mitigate Sole's oft-unrhyming, "eclectic" rapping throughout that release. Not to say the debut was mediocre in anyway; quite the contrary as its newer sibling works to streamline the same formula and only shines just a bit brighter....full text |
| Popmatters |
| An accident in Mexico City and a providential return from Barcelona seem like very different unrelated events, sharing the Spanish language as their only commonality. But they both became congruent in the dusty altitudes of Flagstaff, Arizona when Tim Holland and Bud Berning combined their respective musical forces to form Sole & the Skyrider Band. For Sole it was the natural culmination of an unconventional hip hop career, which started as a battle rapper in Maine before co-founding Anticon Records and espousing a non-rhyming brand of abrasive poetics that drew the ire and disdain of many purists. With the Skyrider Band he continues to defy the traditional approach to hip hop, eschewing production and using a live band to create the sonic backdrop for his scathing lyrics. Their self-titled first release was saturated in erudite editorials that critiqued culture, empire, apathy, and political topics. As insightful as it was satirical, as lyrical as it was sarcastic, it marked a darkened and dyspeptic transition for Sole. Their second release, and first on Fake Four records, Plastique continues in the same vein of dystopian observation and bitter cynicism, though it must be said that this quality is obvious but never overwhelming. Thank God (or an atheist jihad), because no one wants to listen to a sonic exegesis on hopelessness for forty minutes. The tone is instead marked by solemn realization, dissecting the many facets of pop culture and familiar Americana with the precision of a razor....full text |
| Potholesinmyblog |
| There’s something about Sole. Maybe it’s his unusual delivery. Perhaps it’s the odd eclectic sounds with drums that sound like they were just spattered over walls in a frenzy. One thing is for certain – the man is certainly one of Anticon’s legends who has certainly intrigued many. Not only with his solo albums, but also with group dynamics as well; many can take for example Deep Puddle Dynamics’ The Taste of Rain…Why Kneel? Now two years after Sole & The Skyrider Band’s self titled debut, they re-appear with their sophomore effort, Plastique. Clocking in at about 42 minutes, this album definitely is a skyrider in terms of its texture. The production on it is basically its caveat – nothing sounds alike and it’s all very fluid for the most part. The affair starts once Sole’s vocals take center stage on “Children of Privilege”, where Sole raps non-stop for about the minute-and-a-half mark until the syncopated and stuttered drum deliver upon synthetic sounding violins. Lots of slow-tempo affairs come in the form of “Battlefields”, “More”, and “Mr. Insurgent”. Elsewhere on this affair you have the Skyrider Band freak-out on “Black”, which goes on for about seven and a half minutes. “Black” really makes you think why the Skyrider Band harnessed its energy for the disc’s duration. That’s not to say most of the disc is bad. There are some songs which definitely have their worth on here. “Longshots”, for example, has Sole going on a self-critique extravaganza with a perfectly matched stark piano, whereas “Nothing, Pt. 2″ is more so an exercise in buildup where Sole’s vocals are technically frantic. “Pissing In The Wind” is very much reminiscent of what the first Sole & The Skyrider Band’s disc first contained. And this track is probably the catchiest with its very measured vocals and far-out sounding snare, which sounds like a gunshot. But above them all, “Bait” is the shining star in this disc with its frantic drum-arrangements and mood-tinged organ notes....full text |
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