REVIEW: Prefuse 73 "Prefuse 73 Reads The Books"

Rating: 8.5

The success of any remix or collaborative project can be as easily attributed to luck as it can be to the controllable and timely fusion of complimentary artists.  The dense but danceable electronica of Scott Herren's Prefuse 73 project, a digital hip-hop steamroller of sorts, provides a deep and regularly-but-not-predictably spinning roulette wheel over which the treble and glitch-heavy Books move adroitly like a bouncing ball.

The compositions are simply numbered (uno - ocho) and are evenly balanced making it hard to imagine the album as a pure remix.  The feel is one of mutual benefit, Herren's populist 808 bottom line and aggressively structured MC splicing is given the benefit of a larger cerebrum and softer edge via The Books, while The Books often oblique lack of structure is remedied nicely by some straightforward beats.

The eight song "ep" is rewarding enough in its texture and depth to play like an LP, leaving the active listener sated but wanting more and the casual bystander curious and unoffended.  For those looking to get into The Books, this is less like Cliff's Notes and more like the critically acclaimed film adaptation by a kinder, gentler Prefuse 73.