Leon Michels circles back on 2005s Sounding Out The City, the sound that put us onto El Michels Affair in the first place. The ensuing years saw Michels co-found Big Crown Records with Akalepse, amass a seemingly unending rap sheet of stellar session work and a pair of Wu-Tang-focused cover records which tookbig band hip-hop worship to new levels, making Adult Themeshis first full-length return to original compositions since SOTC. Its evident before you even take off the shrink wrap that this ones the result of a healthy binge on french psych pop library sleaze a la Melody Nelson, Le Mariage Collectif, etc. Opener Enfant is the mise en scne with summery acoustic guitar plucks, blaxploitation flute and some highly evocative cooing from the faceless Birkin to Michels Serge (dont quote me but Im almost certain its shorty from The Shacks based on her hushed cadence and the Big Crown connection). Centerpiece Life Of Pablo begins with the shriek of a newborn baby (Michels kid), slowly settling into the sort of gargantuan stadium-sized cop funk that Just Blaze would have lost his shit over in 2002. The albums grander suites are garnished with a smattering of byte-size pizzicato weirdness and single-serving breakbeats. This the type of shit that makes me want to dust off my sampler and start making beats again. Magnifique! Limited white colored vinyl version, highly recommended.

• white colored vinyl
• limited edition
• music label: Big Crown Records 2020

reviewed by naffi sandwich 10/2019