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Taking on both the BS and sobering-side-of-life lessons while straddling genres would be difficult for any musician, but Sage did it and came up with a B-plus effort. More tangible proof that he’s a gifted artist.
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Alternative PressLi(f)e's musical concept is great, but he's been better on the mic. [Jun 2010, p.105]
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Although Francis has described himself as a "low-confidence engine" since early in his career, the rapper has produced a strong and instantly relatable album with Li(f)e.
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Some consider Francis more of a spoken-word artist than a hip-hop MC, and there’s validity to that. When he falters, his cadences flatten out and completely lack rhythm, especially in the songs that are bursts of verbosity. At times, his verse is more provocative than evocative.
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It’s a serious, earnest “lighten up, kid” that returns to Francis’s strongest mode, the slightly stilted personal journal; like the rest of Li(f)e it’s honest, sometimes brutally so, occasionally just brutal, and it’s hard to ask for more than that.
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FilterWhile combining rock with rap always risks awkwardness, Francis' poetry supersedes Li(f)e's musical missteps. [Spring/Summer 2010, p.108]
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If every track on the album had the unforced lyrical clarity of "Little Houdini", Sage could have the album of his life on his hands here. But Sage is still the type of guy to name an album Li(f)e and a song "Polterzeitgeist", and the album comes packed with yeesh-inducing lines
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He didn’t want a rock-influenced hip-hop record. He wanted a rock record he could rap over. It’s no surprise, perhaps, that this works as often as it does.
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Q MagazineHis fourth album finds him backed by a band for the first time, and collaborating with songwriters. The result sit somwhere between Buck 65 and Everlast, alebeit more erudite lyrically. [July 2010]
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Most of his fans will chose to follow, while first time listeners may find it hard to relate. I promise you there's no bitter aftertaste if you give it a chance - in the end you may find it surprisingly sweet.
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Splashed with the marks of two styles veritably at odds with each other, Li(f)e is a messy example of creative head-butting resulting in a conflicted whimper of an album.
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The end result is a new soundtrack for the same old song and dance: Sage still ekes out a chuckle-inducing rhyme here and there, but it’s nothing he hasn’t done before.
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His good intentions are largely undone by the occasional ideological confusion. The enjoyment offered by the instrumentation is unmitigated, however, which ultimately makes Li(f)e something of a positive-sum venture.
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Under The RadarLi(f)e's major selling points are the Americana-tinged instrumentals that dutifully counterpoint Francis' rebukes. [Spring 2010, p.74]
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While his past two Anti-/Epitaph releases showed a heavy punk influence, Li(f)e is a groundbreaking amalgamation of folk, indie rock and hip hop.