Published on Mar 9, 2001
It’s been some time since I last heard from Pfilbryte, an
alternative hip-hop artist who painted a colorful, if slightly
skewed, view of his world on 1998’s
Imperfection. I remember being incredibly impressed with
what Pfilbryte had to offer, and expected to hear much more from
this young artist – that was, until the label he was signed to
closed its doors.
Out of the blue about two months ago, I received an e-mail from
Pfilbryte, asking if I’d be interested in reviewing his latest
disc,
Preservatives Affirmative!. Of course, I was not about to
say no; I was interested to hear what approximately three years had
done to his musical vision… and while it took me some time to
adjust to the change in his sound, Pfilbryte proves he’s lost none
of his power or wit.
One word of caution, though: this is a disc meant to be played
at top volume through decent speakers. Running it through a cheezy
squeakbox isn’t going to do the sound any justice – and, frankly,
you’ll end up missing some of the sonic texture that Pfilbryte
layers into his music.
Blessed with a full backing band (including live drums –
obviously he appreciates the power these have over their
synthesized brethren) and vocalists, Pfilbryte waxes eloquent about
his love of cereal (“Preservatives Affirmative”) and beer (“I Like
Beer”), nursery rhymes (“King Cole”), religion (“Believe Me”) and
the love for a child only a parent can feel (“I Know”). Through it
all, he makes sure to never become too serious for his own skin…
and he never becomes too silly to cover up the deeper messages.
Delivering the payload in a style akin to Dr. John joining
Digital Underground, Pfilbryte uses his vocal range to create
different moods throughout
Preservatives Affirmative!, while maintaining a credibility
throughout the project. This is why tracks like “Bicycle,” “7
Wonders” and “Suburbancooltriphopmixofpop” (no, the space bar
didn’t get stuck on that last one) work so well. Pfilbryte might
initially come off sounding like the clown prince of alternative
trip-hop, but he demonstrates early and often that he’s quite
serious about his craft – and his dedication is evident. (I did,
however, eventually tire of the interludes from popular comedy
movies. Still, a minor glitch, and one not worthy of making a
federal case out of.)
Admittedly, it takes a little time for the listener to acquaint
themselves with Pfilbryte’s sound – and while I admit it’s been
some time since I sat down and listened to
Imperfection from start to finish, I considered myself to be
familiar with Pfilbryte’s style. Yet even I had to take a few stabs
at this particular disc, simply because I wasn’t grasping what
Pfilbryte was trying to say. Eventually, I got it, and it proved to
be time well spent – though I wonder how many people would be
willing to make such an investment of time and effort.
Preservatives Affirmative! is serious enough to be
noteworthy and humorous enough to be locked in your memory. All
Pfilbryte needs is the opportunity to spin his tales on your
eardrums. Listen to him; you will not be disappointed.