Don’t sleep on this latest album from Cap’t Footbags. I first was exposed to him through his livestreams on the official Cold Rhymes Records Twitch page. I’ve only been to like one or two of the livestreams, but he immediately struck me as a pretty cool producer and DJ. I particularly like the “FOOTBAGS!” tag he uses. I don’t know why, but it’s funny to me. I love shit like that. I wasn’t sure if he ever released his own music, so when I saw that he actually put out an album I was very intrigued. Thankfully it didn’t end up disappointing me. I think this is probably the best instrumental project I’ve heard all year.

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Since this isn’t really a full review I’m just gonna be writing about a handful of my favorite tracks. The only reason I’m not doing a full review is because I’m not great at discussing instrumentals. Anyway, the first song is called Julianne Moore.

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Every song is named after an actor or actress. I think this song sets the tone for the rest of the project really well. The hard-hitting, dusty drums sound really great, and the different sounds and samples that come in and out are awesome. This actually kinda sounds like a turntablism album. It’s been a while since I’ve heard a project that sounds like this. Anyway, I really enjoyed this track, and I think it’s a dope way to start the album. The next track I wanna talk about is called Susan Sarandon. I absolutely love how rough and rugged this instrumental sounds. It kinda reminds me of the types of instrumentals Odd Nosdam made for External Magnetic. That could be said about a lot of the beats on this album actually. I think “Music for Dark Basements” is the perfect title for this album because it really fits the sonic aesthetic. This shit sounds dirty as hell. I love it. This song actually grew on me even more after repeat listens. I think it’s dope as hell. It segues really smoothly into the following track, James Cameron. This is another highlight for me. It’s one of the more melodic instrumentals on the album. Once again, the dusty drums sound fantastic. This is the longest song on the project, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome at all. It sounds fantastic. Once again, this is another song that grew on me with repeat listens. It’s dope as hell. Track 9 is called Ron Perlman, and it’s another one of the more melodic tracks on the album.

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It makes me think of the first level in Jak & Daxter for some reason. It sounds like it would go well as a soundtrack for that game. At the very beginning of the track, it sounds like Footbags is freestyling, but it’s only like 3 or 4 bars. It’s kinda funny sounding. I like it. It’s a cool little detail. This is a really dope song. It’s followed by a highlight called Chris Elliott.

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On my first listen of the album, this was my favorite track. It might still be my number one favorite. I don’t know yet. I haven’t chosen a favorite song as of Wednesday, May 31st. This is a strong contender though. Dem drums doe. Goddamn. The percussion is really hard-hitting, and the bass sounds raw as fuck. This is a NASTY ass beat. It sounds dirty as fuck in the best way possible. It’s kind of melodic at the same time too though. Okay, yeah, this is the best song on the album. Fuck it. This is my favorite track. It’s honestly one of my favorite songs of the year. I think it’s dope as fuck. Track 11 is called Tim Curry. This is another one of the more melodic tracks on the album. It sounds more lighthearted than a lot of the other beats. The bass melody is fantastic, and the dusty drums sound really good. It’s another dope song. The penultimate track is called Tom Selleck. I absolutely love the drums on this one. The bass that eventually comes in after about 40 seconds sounds great too. This one has more electronic-sounding elements than a lot of the other beats. I appreciate that this album has a consistent aesthetic without sounding too similar throughout. This song is dope. The closing song is called Angela Lansbury, and it’s easily the jazziest song on the project. This is another one that grew on me a lot. It’s one of my favorite songs on the album now. There’s this weird sound effect that comes in after about one minute. It kinda sounds like an edited clip of a dog barking. It sounds really cool. I love it. Once again, the dusty percussion sounds fantastic. This song is fire. I love it. I think it’s dope as hell.

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^{This album grew on me a lot. I thought it was good when I first heard it, but now I think it’s great. There’s not a single track on this album that I don’t like. Like I said in the body of this review, I really appreciate that this album has a consistent aesthetic without sounding too samey throughout. Even the tracks that are technically longer than I typically prefer for an instrumental song don’t feel like they overstayed their welcome at all. The beats here are all really rough, rugged, and raw sounding, and the dusty percussion sounds fantastic. I had a feeling I would enjoy this album to some extent, but it ended up surpassing my expectations. Like I said, this is the best instrumental project I’ve heard all year. Don’t sleep on it.}

Favorite Song: Chris Elliott
Least Favorite Song: Tawny Kitaen

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