Summary:Scott Herren's latest Prefuse 73 album features about as many guest appearances as you can fit on a single compact disc, including contributions from The Books, El-P, Ghostface, Aesop Rock, Broadcast, RZA, Beans and Café Tacuba.
Prefuse 73 has defiantly asserted himself as one of the most important artists of his generation, ignoring boundaries and creating a landscape that recognizes hip-hop's original "anything goes" ethos. [Apr 2005, p.99]
The jewel in Scott's creative crown is that he has an uncanny knack of keeping it flowing, even when his beats and tones are jerking our sensibilities to shreds with their cerebral madness.
Fruitful collaborations... invite the listener to keep that dial locked, despite the odd distracting lapse into free-form digital static. [Jul 2005, p.112]
Fans of Handsome Boy Modeling School, DJ Spooky, RJD2 and other genre-melding, conscious hip-hop are gonna want to procure this one right away. [#9, p.71]
Critics tend to undervalue the immense amount of work that clearly goes into Prefuse 73's albums. Anyone with any experience with Critics tend to undervalue the immense amount of work that clearly goes into Prefuse 73's albums. Anyone with any experience with digital music-making is rightfully placed in awe by the apparantly grueling, painstakingly minute cutting, pasting and arranging that go into these recordings. What's more, the songs maintain a beautifully and listenable melodic quality unmatched by many of Prefuse's electronic contemporaries. This album is clearly the evolution of years of hard work and experience on Herren's part. The songs are beautiful, and with headphones on, practically exasperating in their compexity. It may be a little more than the average listener can handle. For the same reason I don't expect my little sister to like it when I play Aphex Twin in my car stereo, I can understand why many reviewers don't like it. Travel.…Expand
Scott develops his greatest snapshot portrait of hip hop here and in the process proves that all the mainstream music around him just adds up Scott develops his greatest snapshot portrait of hip hop here and in the process proves that all the mainstream music around him just adds up to silence.…Expand
This is Herren's best album, bar none. This time he comes to the table with many of the same production tricks he's used in the This is Herren's best album, bar none. This time he comes to the table with many of the same production tricks he's used in the past, but the effort, while it explores extremely varied musical terrain, is his most focussed to date. Sure, there are a couple tracks that lapse into what many may consider self-indulgent non-sequitirs and noisiness, but Prefuse earns these moments with some of the most inventive collaborations ever put to tape. It's not as emotive or personal as One Word, but it does not suffer from that album's homogeneity either. Those familiar with the Prefuse back catalog will have to decide how they feel about the "self-sampling" employed on several tracks. Some will dismiss the familiarity as already trod ground for Herren. Others will see it as a form of self-collaboration, an interesting way of deconstructing the idea of collaboration in general.…Expand
Contrary to the reviews, I think this is Herren's best work yet. Inconsistent? It flows pretty well to me. It's a little heavy on Contrary to the reviews, I think this is Herren's best work yet. Inconsistent? It flows pretty well to me. It's a little heavy on the collaborations, but most of them are RAD. I like it a lot.…Expand
The Ghostface/El-P collabo was, although not classic, still dope.Ghostface was all right, but El-P naturally matched the inventiveness of The Ghostface/El-P collabo was, although not classic, still dope.Ghostface was all right, but El-P naturally matched the inventiveness of Herren's production. Instrumental tracks-most of them were excellent, although at times a little too laid back. Gza and Masta Killa- they took the day the day off. Their track was the only weak one on the album. I think critics had one of two expectations for Surrounded By Silence, an album that was a rehash of One Word Extinguisher, or an album that would erase the fine line between hip-hop and electronica for 21 tracks. Overall, a very eclectic and engrossing listen, but it doesn't match the all-around atmospheric quality of One Word Extinguisher.…Collapse
Pretty crappy work. Basically he mixes a few of his favorite artists over edgy glitch sounds, and it just doesn't react. Pretty crappy work. Basically he mixes a few of his favorite artists over edgy glitch sounds, and it just doesn't react. Ghostface's verse from Hideyaface is ill on it's own,, and isn't really complemented by the beat, like a wanna be DJ mixtape exclusive. Favorite non-collab is minutes away without you (a reworking of 5 minutes away from Vocal Studies and Uprock Narratives). Certainly not much originality here.…Expand