Efdemin ‎– Chicago

Criminally underrated. Over-shadowed last year, most likely, by the John Roberts LP. I believe I enjoy this even more.

Efdemin's second album, CHICAGO, takes a much different tack from his debut. First off, the opening track, "Cowbell," features a lot of... cowbell. It also has more of a improvisatory feel to it, as opposed to his more carefully structured pieces. The kickdrum never even kicks in! "Shoeshine" brings back the beat, but the structure still remains loose, with snippets of city sounds murmuring in the background, beneath the angular synth lines. "Oh My God" is somewhat abstract until the piano chords arrive, whereupon it becomes almost jazzy, until it segues into the Chicago house of "There Will Be Singing," which takes a tribal direction halfway through before surfacing again. "Nothing is Everything" veers into abstraction again, while, on the other side of the spectrum, “Round Here” and “Night Train” are both rhythmic pounders. The reprise of “Oh My God” that closes the album emphasizes the piano chords in an ambient background. Quite the step in a new direction.