About Time
By
LOMAX
About Time is the debut solo release from one of
Lancashire’s finest emcees Lomax. Now, over the years, Lomax has been no
stranger to the blog. His first appearance was as a guest on Dweller’s Record
of Achievement, way back in January of 2020, following that he appeared as
one half of the Obslites, alongside Karlow (now Areli) with debut Surplus To
Requirements, and later as one of T.H.E.M. alongside Seek The Northerner,
Bruva Smokes, and Karlow (Areli), on their debut album Outside The Box
from 2023, and that’s just to name a few.
Before we get into the album, lets get a little more
background on the emcee from Wigan. His musical journey began aged Ten when he
began playing the drums, which led to him playing drum’s for the school
orchestra. Later he would start recording rap demos using a four track tape
recorder at school. Following on from this he would go on to a formal schooling
in music and a career in education, as well as playing guitar and keys. He
produces his own beats using a combination of software and real instruments.
He blew up on the UK Hip Hop scene in 2020 winning the
‘Shotgun the Bars’ competition. Then a link up with Micall Parknsun and support
for the Beatnuts and Jeru The Damaja, plus a string of live performances
alongside DJ Woody, would see him quickly make waves, catching the eyes of his
peers. He would also feature alongside the legendary Blak Twang on the album
‘Going Up’.
About Time features concepts that are as diverse as
his musical influences, with deep storylines and conspiracy theories,
showcasing his skills to the fullest. The album is also produced by Micall
Parknsun and features appearances from C.O.N. Vers, COSM, Verbz, BxBarian,
Karlow, and Jabbthakut. Being released through Live From The Groove, there is
this feeling that all in all it promises to be something special.
So, all that said, I think its about time for me to take you
on a deep dive into About Time…
As the hands of time begin to move, the album starts off
with In The Meantime, which mixes melodic keys with a solid beat that
has your head nodding once the intro has got you understanding that the sun and
moon are constants, and will always be there as a symbol of the passage of
time. As an intro, this one goes beyond just being a demonstration of his
abilities and what Lomax is about. This one explores the fact that we are all
prisoner within the manmade construct of time. Without time, we would live only
by the passage of the sun and the moon. So, now you have an insight into the
skills Lomax is bringing to the table, its time to keep moving forward with So
Cold. Here Parky raises the bar and your pulse rate with a heavy beat that
is backed with bass and strings, all of which combine to bring a sound that
gets you punching the air. Lomax also raises things up by upping the flow rate
and giving us bars that begin to show the depth of the subject matter he is
touching on. As you listen, trying to keep pace with the word flow, you realise
that not only is Lomax cold in what he delivers but, he is likely to freeze you
to the core. Take Time sees C.O.N. Vers make is first appearance on track
that has a dark edge with the heavy beat backed by strings that sound like a
deadly swarm of bees, there are also some eerie piano notes dropping in that
add to the uneasy feeling. This one is all about the fact that, to things
properly, you need to take your time. Don’t rush into things thinking you can
just get done. Do that and everything you do will end up being forgotten or
remembered for the wrong reasons but, take you time with all you do, and you
can’t fail to produce something that will stay in peoples minds or become
locked in their unconscious memory waiting for the right time to be brought
back into conscious recall. Next, COSM steps up for the Freakshow where
the drum break, strings, and horns bring a sound that is heavy but also tests
your nerves. With the sound testing your nerves, you might find that the lyrics
and the delivery test your mind so, keep your wits about you. Here its all
about delivering complex lyrics that test the resolve of the artist as much as
they test the ears of the listener. When you take your time to write and
deliver your very best, it is without doubt that those words may invade your
sleep and perhaps even take on a mind of their own. Perhaps it’s deeper than
that, maybe the words have always been there, waiting for the right time to
seize your subconscious and explode into the third dimensional world. Maybe
they were just too much for the mind of the reviewer? Things seem to ease back
a little with The Whirlwind as the beat is a little more relaxed but, by
no means any less heavy. The strings create a musical emulation of what a
whirlwind sounds like, spinning your mind around but, not in a dangerous way.
Lomax also eases back on the flow rate but still putting your head in a spin as
you rotate through three hundred and sixty degrees, trying to figure out which
perspective is the best one to view this from as Lomax delivers a complex array
of bars that feel like they were created by a blast from HAARP.
You come out of this spin to the knowledge that, providing
you are listening to this on vinyl, that it is time to flip over to the other
side. As you do so, Verbz joins Lomax for the Butterfly Effect, with
Jabbathakut on the cuts. Here the beat is backed by organ notes that create
this laid-back sound which almost has you swaying along to the sound as the
lyrics take to the forefront. On first listen you might not fully grasp this
one but, as you listen you realise that its all about cause and effect and how
the smallest action has the potential to affect something on the other side of
the world, or it can affect everything in your life from that moment on. It is
humbling to look back and realise that something as small as leaving you house
or not on day many years ago, can have a huge effect on where you are now. From
something so deep we keep moving forward with Same Old, where horns and
strings back a laid-back drum beat to bring a sound that seems to have a
reflective edge. As we traverse our life in this time and space, there are
moments when things just seem to come back around, time and again. These are
the moments when we feel it’s the same old things happening, just a different
moment in time, or perhaps we are destined to experience these moments, over
and over again until we find their meaning and what it has to teach us, an
interesting thought! Codebreakers sees BxBarian join us for the first
time and brings back C.O.N. Vers one last time. The beat is a little heavier
here with piano notes that gives this one a more focused air to it. The art of
code breaking is to take something that appears to be nonsensical and then to
find the pattern that fits, making it spill its secrets. There are a lot of
things in plain sight these days that appear to be giving us one answer when in
fact it hides something far different and even sinister, and this is what the
guys are doing here is to open up on breaking down what is out there and not to
get entangled in the lies. In doing so, they create their own code that is
embedded in their lyrics. We come to the penultimate track of the album, Angels
& Demons, where an air of uneasiness is created by the melodic drum
break which is backed by an eerie mix of sounds that open you up to extreme
possibilities. Here Lomax explores the concepts of good and evil, not just as
supernatural beings but, what exists within the world around us and within us.
I guess that what occurs to you here is that one can does not exist without the
other. So, for all the evil you see around you or even inside you, there is
equal or better there too, you just have to believe and to see it. The album
rounds off with Modus Operandi which features BxBarian and Karlow
alongside Lomax with cuts by Jabbathakut. Organ notes and a hefty beat give
this a sound that gets you nodding along while systematically twisting your
mind. This one focuses on the way people operate or behave, something that
doesn’t just reflect how each of the artist work but, also relates to everyone
we interact with and see in the world around us. Each of us has our own ways of
doing things, and I don’t want to speculate on things here and start talking
about my own habits but each of you reading this and listening to the album
will know what I’m referring to here; we also see it in those around us or what
we see on the TV etc. This is a very deep concept to consider, especially when
you think how people can behave differently in how they present to the world as
opposed to what their goals are behind the mask…
What is immediately striking about the album is the fact
that Lomax has crafted some highly intelligent and deeply complex lyrics that
can twist and turn how you interpret them with each listen. Especially when you
take into account your own experiences in life. I don’t know if that was
intentional but, when you take into account the concepts of time and space that
are interwoven you get this feeling that it would be interesting to be able to
experience this album in multiple dimensions all at once. Just to see how
differently it speaks to you, or is that a bit much…
Something I do want to point out here is the concept of
quality over quantity. Now, it might have taken Lomax five years to bring us a
solo album but, when that album has the quality that this one does, it speaks
more about his approach to his craft that anything. He could have put out,
album after album since 2020, taking advantage of his explosion onto the scene
but, instead, he has taken the time to gain experience, hone his craft and then
delver an album that immediately sets the bar high for anything else that comes
after.
Working with Micall Parknsun is a credit too because he
brings years of quality production knowledge to the table, and he is able to
perfectly match the right beats with the right emotive feeling to emulate what
Lomax is putting across in his lyrics. Which is no mean feat when those lyrics
are as deep as they are here. When you then add in a sprinkling of guest
appearances who each add their own depth and quality to the mix it just makes
everything work so well, with everyone complimenting each other. Plus, when you
put Jabbathakut in the mix, it just kind of brings it all together in one
cohesive bond.
To be perfectly honest, this is one of those albums that you
could spend hours talking on the nature of some of the concepts and just how
well the intellectual and complex nature of the lyrics fit so well with those
concepts. You could not make an album of this nature with out spending the time
to craft it to perfection, and this is pretty close to perfection right here.
But, I’ll leave it up to you to make your own mind up, because for me About
Time is not just a banger, it’s a cerebral experience that speak on a whole
other level for you, than it did me, so enjoy this one time and again.
My humble thanks go to Lomax and to Dweller at Live From The
Groove for giving me the time to get into this one and bring you my own spookily deep dive.
About Time is released today on Live From the Groove
and is available on limited Edition Black Vinyl, CD and Cassette versions but,
be quick as I’m pretty sure they won’t be around for long.
I’ll see ya next time,
Steve.
LINKS
Grab your copy Here:
https://livefromthegroove.bandcamp.com/album/about-time
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