Arch Angel :OFF Center (Album Review)
To fall into the peaks of perfection. To carry on the burden of ambition. To become Off center as you try to find your core. We dive blindly into ArchAngel's new project. Will it live beyond its predecessor? We shall see! This is the exclusive review of Arch Angel's OFFCENTER.
Guided into a broken English text and a completely mute back drop. Off center starts off simplistic but adequate. A slow and morbid beginning to the intro of an album.
The production starts un-peaked and somber.
The song "1hunid" introduces the album on a grand scale. Arch voice is vivid and directly poached into the song. A slow simmer deeply chased with reverb and a perfectly tuned EQ. His voice is close, strongly performed and instantly grabs attention. The song starts off with a highly infectious rhythm. The lyrics "One hundred" is placed throughout the piece, laced with perfect alibs that seamlessly flow together. His voice lingers with his signature drag and vibrato. Granting the chorus a creative life of its own. The topic of the record is far from creative. But the approach to such an over saturated topic gives you a refreshing feel. Arch verse is prominent and blends into the chorus well. Sometimes its extremely hard to place the chorus from his verse. It all harbors from the same energy. This threw off the structure of the song, but left us with an exciting experience. His feature: LadyStax kicks off her verse with a lower, more uniformed style flow. Her vocal cadence dances in unison with the song which is well presented. Her alibs are minimal, letting her delivery take the center stage. She never drops an ounce energy as it breaks back into the chorus with perfection. His last feature: Virghost approaches the song entirely different from the other performers. His energy and aggression is more potent. His lyrics seem personally directed and attached to the topic of the song. His artistry shows high as his flow pattern takes a step back. His performance boasted the song above its already amazing feel. This record grants the listener that radio ready sound with artist that are polished with summer gleams. Each persona bled through this record which was constructed under the genius of Arch. The next record:The Man production is refreshing and soaks life straight out of the Miami spring. The metronome style beat pattern builds anticipation among its empty stage. Piano synths are heavily dubbed, claps take back stage as this melody is meant to paint the picture. Such a soothing, complex production that blends effortlessly. Arch voice is delivered in unison to the instrumentals high point. The chorus is Arch signature style, heavily dubbed and exaggerated voice bravado. The vibe branches out of the normal for ARCH. A highly infectious chorus structure that never gets mundane. His feature:Bryce Dean adds in vocals. His singing is crisp and extremely captivating. His tone is perfection as its accompanied with a very light auto-tune. The way Bryce is presented is extremely smooth and well placed. Arch verse rides in next with an very smooth transition. His feature steps off stage and arch verse is more relaxed and less complex. Granting the song a different taste as the lyrics take course. His flow isn't as impressive as the first half of the song, but delivers a simplicity that makes this song stand on a golden pedestal. The song seems slightly too short and ends on a unexpected note. It does give you just enough to be satisfied but leaves you still wanting more. We where so happy Arch decided to take his talents to South-beach. Jump down to the next record "Jumpin". This record starts off immediately into the chorus. The production is average and doesn't necessarily bring anything special. Everything with the production is well done, kicks and ticks are separated wide and blend far back into melody. Arch chorus takes and all to similar approach. But, when "Jumpin" kicks in it delivers you an contagious bounce. Arch chorus/bridge delivers his signature charisma which you never seem to grow tired of. His first feature on the record:Moss the Beast comes in immediate after the chorus. His rap flow, is stop and go and stays in line. His performance was great, switching patterns mid-verse kept things interesting. His a-libs were heavier in the beginning to support his less wordy approach. A good addition to the record Moss ushers in a consistent flare. The next verse is actually his next feature:K.I. His voice has a dusky rasp that vividly grabs your attention. His flow pattern is possibly the highlight of the record. Smooth and unorthodox K.I. performance boost the song to another level. What seems to be missing in this song is a standard more recognizable verse from Arch. Chorus and bridges seem to carry this song as verses take a slight back seat. The song felt as it needed Arch to bring a verse. To bring lyrics that paint the picture and bring this record to 4k definition instead of leaving it with the "club record" vibe. Hack into Haywire the next record on the album. The production is tantalizing and seducing. A piano melody plain with little ambition the record starts off slow. But as the clap echoes into the empty walls of waves. The beat jumps in an flourishes all of its glory at once. The melody is laid inside the beat perfectly. A rush of emotions force you to bow your head and listen. The production makes you feel like the artist has something great to say. Arch verse starts off strong. His voice is clear, persona toned down and playful vibrato is absent. His flow pattern is slow and need a-libs to support. The lyrics presented in this song is strong. He hits so many different topics, so many elements from social media, to hatred to police brutality. This is such a welcomed change for us. Haywire is simply amazing and the chorus just adds to the presumption. His feature:A.Mercedes vocally blesses this already establish record. Heavy on voice doubles and reverb her vocals isn't as clear as you may be used to. But the extra reverb and effects add to atmosphere of the record. This record takes you out of your comfort zone. Makes you question them, but also makes you question yourself. Driven by pain, his ambition an artistry was never seen so clearly than this moment right here. The next record: Pxssy is deliberately explicit and red cheek. The chorus has a great rhythm and is very catchy. The chorus is saturated with alibs that drag into each other. The reverb effects are placed heavy and thoughtful. The production is also gravitating. Soothing yet comes with and slight bounce. The instrumentation used is creative and brings this piece to life. The backing melody during the chorus is amazing and leaves you completely satisfied. The verses are astonishingly constructed. Possibly the strongest performance flow wise on the album. He delivers every spectrum of Arch flow wise we've seen so far. Lyrics, creative flow pattern, exaggerated vibrato all fits in so well. The record seems to carry a slight simile maybe garnishing another meaning outside of wanting sex. But, it was done so lightly its hard to draw to that conclusion. Regardless the song itself breaks the mold and gives you an instant gratification. OFF Center is a masterpiece. Seeming like every song and lyric was thought of. Time was crafted to make this album and you can tell. Its extremely polished, no song sounds the same topics vary from track to track. Each one coast the line of radio ready and hiphop head friendly. The production is grand, and seems to have a wide array of feelings. Never becoming dull or numbing to the experience. Arch growth on this album is evident and inspiring. Off center also sometimes takes Arch out of the center of attention. Some records felt as if Arch didn't play the lead role. Carrying a chorus/dj esque approach and only giving a few standard bar formats. The album as a whole is small. Which hurts the experience slightly. What Arch managed to do is pack so much in what was offered you left completely satisfied. Nothing about this album felt rushed or unplanned. Polished to perfection Off-center is a small masterpiece.
STAY UPDATED WITH ARCH FOR RELEASE DATE HERE!
Arch Angel- OFF CENTER
Untouchable
4.4/5
RELEASE SCHEDULE FOR: 1ST QUARTER 2017
STAY UPDATED WITH ARCH FOR RELEASE DATE HERE!
