Alias & Ehren

Lillian

[4/5] While Anticon’s thrift-store hip-hop and convoluted diary keeping have become underground orthodoxy, Alias has been the member of the collective most likely to buck the system for conventional pop beauty. His quest culminates on Lillian, recorded with his sibling, Ehren, who adds jazz-inspired woodwinds to big bro’s sweeping synthscapes. You gotta be careful with this stuff-one person’s Eno is another’s Yanni, and there are inevitable moments where the programmed rhythms and keyboard textures are the end, as well as the means. But the Whitney brothers? Sweet, consistent melodic sense makes this atmospheric collection a breath of fresh air. (ANTICON) Dan LeRoy



ROCKS LIKE: Prefuse 73’s One Word Extinguisher • Boom Bip’s Corymb • Vangelis’ Direct