The Electric: Life Is Moving
When I received The Electric‘s Life Is Moving, I thought it was an indie pop band that I listened to earlier last decade. It turns out this is a completely different The Electric, a completely new The Electric. This group is not band at all but a trio consisting of DJ Vadim, MC Pugs Atomz, and UK soulstress Sabira Jade. With each member bringing their own set of strengths to the table, the album shows the three trying to meld into one.
The group manages the melding process to varying degrees of success. Pugz Atomz has game changing lyrical ability. I look at a track like “Questions Questions” where Atomz’ rapid flow of various questions ranges from “does Obama got change?” to “can we be Facebook friends?” The track is humorous but also interesting to see how he connects the questions.
But there are plenty of tracks where Atomz seems like a side show to one of his two other counterparts. On “Sometimes”, he gives way to Sabira Jade. While Sabira Jade has a perfectly fine voice, she does not appear to have the type of talent to carry a track. “Sometimes” ends up as a slow, r&b track that feels generic at best.
Having a person in the group whose job is primarily to be a “soulstress” means that an unfortunate amount of the songs end up with an r&b vibe. Only a few of the r&b-tinged hip hop tracks can Pugz Atomz actually save; many of the tracks fall from grace into the dreaded mediocre category. Leaving Life Is Moving as one of those seemingly promising albums with some really great standout tracks but falls short of greatness.
Rating: 5.6/10
MP3: The Electric “Questions Questions”
Buy: iTunes or Amazon
The Electric: Life Is Moving
