Mic Lanny & James Rock ‘Good Grief’: Review

When local emcee Mirk, I knew the result would be something interesting. Both musicians are harboring raw talent and have been working to find their signature sounds and styles, as evident in that both musicians are really just only getting started.

This Friday marks the official release party of the collaborative EP, titled Good Grief, and will be taking place at the Hollow down on North Pearl Street, as presented by Beat*Shot Productions. The release party will hold a semi-formal theme and will also feature performances by Knowle’ge, Like Lions, Great Mastr and Muscle City. This line-up features a great mix of rock and rap, just like the album itself. Additionally, admission to this show will also come with a free copy of the EP while supplies last, which is pretty awesome.

My first listen of the album had me focusing on the instrumentals, which I found to be a very impressive showcase of talent with an excellent composition and unique sounds. I think that James Rock and Mic Lanny met in the middle somewhere in terms of the sound they were going for and the collaboration is very much in a similar styling to Mirk’s music, which I wasn’t quite expecting. An eclectic blend of pop rock and rap may not be everyone’s taste, as I personally found myself wishing the album was a little bit harder, like Mic Lanny’s usual honed delivery, but I appreciated that he showed range in his interests and approach to rapping for this project.

As far as the concept of the album being a play on Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, I was anticipating more of a channeled focus material wise. Despite the upbeat pop influence instrumentally, I couldn’t tell if I was listening to a sad album or a happy album, (which is totally fine, of course), but I think for a concept album I was hoping to see the story a little clearer. Maybe Friday’s performance will open my eyes a little bit. I’m very much looking forward to hearing how everything sounds live.

All in all, the album is enjoyable and one that made me optimistic for future collaborations with these two performers. Notable tracks for me are “Talking to Walls” and “Castling” with stand out instrumentals, great hooks and excellent flow.

Friday night falls into of those “don’t miss rap/rock show category for those looking to support local music, so don’t sleep on this!