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You can read the review HERE as well.

Brooklyn rap duo Metermaids like to refer to themselves as the “Bad News Bears of hip-hop.” While this is accurate, it bears mentioning that they’re not akin to the cleaned up Billy Bob Thornton team, but rather the Walter Matthau-led original. In a musical drought where much of New York’s rap output has been dead set on recreating past magic, MCs Sentence and Swell haven’t needed to recapture anything they’ve had all along. After being a show-stopping staple of East Coast indie-rap scene, the two signed with Sage Francis’ Strange Famous Records and have unleashed a beast of an album in Rooftop Shake.

The most impressive feat of Rooftop Shake is how perfectly it captures the energy of the duo’s live show, and the adrenaline isn’t compromised in the slightest as great performances and impeccable mixing fill the duration of the record. Second most impressive is the guest list. As rare as it’s become to hear any scratching on rap records these days, the welcome surprise of its inclusion here is made that much better in being performed by X-ecutioner DJ Rob Swift, among the best turntablists in the world today. Also heard are labelmates Buck 65 and Sage Francis, who contributes two appearances. Production on the record is divided between longtime collaborator M. Stine and Grammy Award winner 9th Wonder. 9th’s production has become quite polarizing, especially in recent years, but if you’ve ever been a fan of his, you’ll be happy to know his contributions here are easily among his best work, combining the glossy shine of Little Brother output with the heartfelt soul of his Murs collaborations and a crunching thump that knocks with a fury he hasn’t hit with in some time.

What’s enjoyable about Rooftop Shake is that it’s a truly New York record, but as a whole what stands out is its completely unshakable artistry. The two have toiled together for so long now that they know not only what they want to sound like, but how to achieve it. From the bittersweet tribute to touring “Gone” to the gripping character study of “Last of the EMTs” to the wistful stroll through an old flame’s old neighborhood in “Ghost Town,” both Metermaids excel at concepts and wordplay as much as rocking a party. Particularly refreshing is how engaged both Sentence and Swell sound with what they’re doing, neither feigning apathy nor phoning it in, giving a certain comfort that they’re just as excited about making rap music as their listeners are hearing it.

There’s something really special about Rooftop Shake that, as a longtime fan of underground hip-hop, feels warmly satisfying. Metermaids remind me of that indie-underground renaissance of the early 2000s, a vibrant time that sprung from a DIY-aesthetic as well as a seemingly bottomless pool of creativity. In the decade since, we’ve watched as so many of these groups break-up, burn out and fade away without ever delivering that one great album it seemed they were sure to make. Rooftop Shake is a record with a focused mind and passionate heart set on following through on every underground rap promise left unfulfilled and having a heck of a fun time doing it.

by Chaz Kangas