Don’t sleep on this latest release from Pastense. It originally came out in April of 2020, but was rereleased by Uncommon Records on December 1st this year. I’m not really sure if this project is considered an EP or an album. If I had to guess I’d say it’s an album; it’s just under thirty minutes long, and there are 9 tracks. It features production from Siméus, Messiah Musik, John Sarastro, Uncommon Nasa, and Willie Green. I’m only gonna be writing about my favorite handful of tracks from this project, but it should be noted that there aren’t any songs that I don’t like.

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The first song I wanna talk about is called Dead Man’s Float. This one has a glorious, rich, layered, melodic instrumental from Messiah Musik. I love this beat. Pastense sounds perfect over it too. When I really focused in on what was being said, I was on the edge of my seat eagerly awaiting each line.

Irish Rose straight out the bottle
Soak up the pain, the sorrow
Hard times like water
Shape rock faces, be a better time tomorrow
Daydreams, dock of the bay dreams, dark cloud follows
Learn to love when it's raining, singing, splashing in the puddles metaphorically
Gravity: the only the authority recognized historically
Man, this free-fall is boring me, living, breathing allegory

This song grew on me with repeated listens. I loved it the first time I heard it, but now I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. The writing from Pastense had me hooked, and I adore the production. This shit is boiling hot fire. The following track is called Merlin, and it features DJ Zesto Q. The beat from John Sarastro is slightly jazzy, yet dark and mysterious-sounding. Once again, I was hooked by Pastense’s lyricism.

Welcome to my circus, beneath the surface tragedy's lurking
Armchair and a bourbon, third eye digest the purpose
Embrace the beauty, why birds fly in circles
Nowadays creating people, the particle's emerging
DNA survival urgent, primal urges, magical Merlin

I wasn’t familiar with DJ Zesto Q prior to hearing this song, but I enjoyed their performance quite a bit. I think this song’s dope as hell. The following track, Juxtaposition, might be my favorite song on the whole album. The production from Uncommon Nasa is strange as fuck. It’s one of the most unique Hip Hop instrumentals I’ve heard all year. I feel like it’s the kind of beat that I wouldn’t enjoy that much if there wasn’t a really dope rapper over it. Not that I would think it’s bad; it just wouldn’t have replay value for me. Pastense sounds amazing over this beat though. This song had me totally enchanted. Pastense killed this shit.

Cross that bridge and never look back, only to reminisce
Behold the essence, unfold the lessons
The light at the end of the tunnel vision
The ebb & flow of blessings
The equinox, the speaker box
Bruce Lee to your evil plot
Spines will crack, this is Rocky with the tiger jacket
Violent tactics counteracted, chess moves from a master
Closed eyes will travel, tesseract before and after
First comes the laughter, what a beautiful opus
Let the rain wash the trash off the sidewalk, the day of the locusts
I had to split, I was seeing red, Moses

He absolutely killed this shit. There’s really nothing about this song that I don’t love. The unorthodox production along with Pastense’s beautifully poetic lyricism is an undefeated combination. This is another one of my favorite songs of the year. I still haven’t chosen a favorite track from this album, but this is definitely a strong contender. It’s dope as fuck. The following track is called Unbroken, and it was one of my most anticipated tracks on the album because it features production from Willie Green, whose work I’ve really enjoyed in the past. Thankfully, he didn’t let me down here. The beat is fantastic. I think this song has some of Pastense’s best rapping on the whole album from a technical standpoint. His flow and delivery sound absolutely stellar.

Woke up, didn't die, love life, still alive
Hug wife, multiply, breathe deep, open eyes
Sanctity for a heathen, thankful to be breathing
Seasons change, rearrange my reasons for being
Strange times, gray skies turn blueish with a glassy hue
Huddle rainbows, broken window constellation sad news
Pacified by a shrug and a brew, moves on 'cause time does
Fresh air and sinus, no looking back behind us, no minus, a dream within a dream
I couldn't rap my head around the things that I have seen
Hearing through a screened window recluse
Mind's eye secluded, sun rays so simple to harness
My angel rose from triple darkness
A beautiful human, I sit and rest on this park bench
Moonlit cumulus, steadily moving

He killed this shit. I love this song. I don’t know what I love more between the production and the rapping. Willie Green & Pastense both did a phenomenal job with this one. It’s dope as hell. The next track I wanna talk about is called Last Man on Earth. This one features rapping from Uncommon Nasa, scratching from Shortrock, and production from John Sarastro. The beat is fucking incredible. Fuck. This might be the best song on the album. I really love the percussion, and Pastense sounds perfect over it.

The light's crystal clear, spirits saturate the gleam
Water is wet, and so is the steam
When I rise to the essence, I'll still be me
The only thing that I fear is you couldn't hear me scream
Unseen as a human, stupid beautiful planet in ruins
Un-recoupable damage, brim low in a transit
Tuned into the language, the feeling of panic

The song would’ve already been fire, but the scratches from Shortrock on the hook just elevate this shit even further. The second verse from Nasa is fire too. I feel like his flow was more accessible to me than it has been in the past. His flow has really grown on me over the years, but I feel like this verse would’ve been enjoyable to me even in the past when I wasn’t a fan. Anyway, this shit is fire, and it’s another one of my favorite songs of the year. The closing track is a remix of a song called The Sun Died produced by Uncommon Nasa. I haven’t heard the original song, so I don’t know how it compares to this version. I really love Uncommon Nasa’s production here though. I really like the way this song is structured too. There’s not really a hook here. There’s just a short break between the verses from Pastense & Nasa. Pastense fucking killed this shit. They both did, but Pastense really stood out here to me.

Crying eyes and frowns on faces
Sounds that chase your souls to places
Outer space is here on Earth
It's found in hatred, shells & cases

I love this song. I’m glad they included this remix here. This shit is fire.

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^{I love this album for pretty much all the same reasons I loved Pastense’s Good Will Cutting EP that was also reissued earlier this year. The off-kilter production along with Pastense’s poetic lyricism is just such a perfect formula for me. The beats here are absolutely stunning, and I was hooked by every line that Pastense spit here. I really don’t have any consistent gripes with this release. It’s one of my favorite albums of the year honestly. Pastense might actually be my favorite discovery of 2023. I wasn’t familiar with him before this year, but I absolutely love what I’ve heard so far. This just has me even more excited to hear what gets put out next on Uncommon Records from Pastense. I think he has a collaborative album with Uncommon Nasa coming out in early 2024, so that should be pretty good. I definitely look forward to that. Anyway, give this album a listen and let me know what you think of it in the comments below. I think it’s dope as hell personally.}

Favorite Song: Dead Man’s Float
Least Favorite Song: Silver Surfer

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