Album Review: Midnight Train To Velvet
SIR E.U exercises textural decadence and lyrical finesse with his latest release, Midnight Train To Velvet. The Washington D.C. native wastes no sound and no syllable on the album that features collaborations from Thraxx King, Tony Kill, October ‘71 and more.
Midnight Train To Velvet sits as one of the shiniest jewels in a crown of 14 projects from SIR E.U. This album, like much of his discography, is chock full of genre-bending bars, contrasting production and eye-catching album art. Both a visual and recording-artist, SIR E.U carries the digital chaos from the collaged-cover onto the 11 tracks.
“Go hard in the previews and go hard in the sequel. I go off the grid like no coordinates- off I’m in a reboot….
...And I’m almost my equal. Want to but I don’t need to, stress- I’m blessed”
-SIR E.U Cosplay Freestyle
For those unfamiliar with E.U (and D.C.’s homegrown culture for that matter) the content itself will sound abrasive at first listen. There is no immediate rhyme and reason at first glance either. There is Car Commercial- a two minute and 55 second industrial soundscape experiment. Think Sim City 3000 in build-mode.
Then there is Sometimes, Some of Us Are Better Off Dead (For The Last Time, It’s Not Bout The Damn Bread [prod.Tony Kill]) where E.U furthers his artistic stake in house/garage spaces. The beat is constant and the vocals are spacey, live-sounding and trance-like.
Much of Midnight Train To Velvet’s intrinsic value is derived from SIR E.U’s dedication to breaking all the “rules” in art. He demonstrates lyrical dexterity on THIS is The Stance ft. Cal Rips (prod. Onyeukwu Onwukwe), intelligence in soundscape on Cosplay Freestyle (prod. TOOTHCHOIR) and cadence flexibility on I am So Proud To Get To Know Ya (prod. TOOTHCHOIR).
“No respect, I deflect your weakness,”
-SIR E.U, This is The Stance
The aggregation of all of these styles, lessons and vibes on one album is fun. It’s authentically different. The art is done well. The songs slap. Neither production value nor soul are compromised on Midnight Train To Velvet; this album is not an experiment. This album is fine-tuned.
SIR E.U is a master alchemist- making everything from nothing. Our Chocolate City, now being overrun with outside yacubian gentrifiers, stands a greater chance with these songs as our fight song. As our bat-signal to hop into action.