BG's Top Ten Albums of 2004 - Number Four

Rjd2 - Since We Last Spoke

No matter what he does, Rjd2 (R.J. Krohn to his momma) just can't seem to escape the shadow of his contemporary, DJ Shadow. Like Guy Ritchie with Madonna, almost every introduction of Mr. Krohn is going to also mention Shadow. But there are valid reasons for these comparisons, beyond the fact that they both make the same type of music. Both released their first album to critical acclaim and, now, both released sophomore efforts that didn't meet expectations. But like The Private Press, Since We Last Spoke is a much stronger release than it first seems. Rj isn't just content to stay in the world of instrumental hip hop. Instead he tries his hand at a slew of other genres, like AM soul ("Clean Living") and retro house ("Iced Lightning"). And even though he mostly forgoes the use of scratching or other hip hop signifiers, he's still able to turn out tunes that are distinctly his own. The title track and "1979" are two of the best songs he's ever done, right up there with "Ghostwriter" and "Chicken Bone Circuit" off of Deadringer. Of course, the cohesiveness of the album does suffer with all the genre hopping, and he would do well in the future to refrain from lending his own vocals to tracks, but in the end, just like it was with Shadow, it's encouraging to see an artist trying new things and moving forward instead of being complacently stuck in neutral.