Why? fascinates in their ability to truly fuse genres. They aren’t just making hip-hop for an indie rock audience or collaborating with rap stars. Rather, they give careful attention not only to beats but also the soundscapes that round out the backgrounds and chorus lines. The title-track from their recent A Sod in the Soil EP exhibits this ability more adeptly than any other track on the album. Moreover, for a guy known for his rhymes and contributions to indie hip-hop, the chorus hooks and melodies on both the opener and the second track, “For Someone,” invade your thoughts and lodge themselves there.
While these openers have the most to offer, the steady claps that provide the backbone of percussion on “The Plan” and the strange arrangement and stop-start, staccato snare of “Shag Carpet” both merit noting. It is on the latter and the opening track that Why? mastermind Yani Wolf drops the hardest rhymes. “Twenty Something” stands out as the most out of place track on the EP with its adorable imagery and repetitious instrumentation. The track ends up feeling like a quick experiment.
In the end, Why? haven’t forged into new territory if you use their prior work as a barometer, but on Sod in the Seed they continue doing what they do best, and have provided some quality tracks to tide over fans before the release of their forthcoming LP, Mumps, Etc. later this year.
