producers: ant, jel, moodswing9, el-p

Cars and women: the theme of the country music album of the year, or Minnesota's finest hip-hop? "Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP"'s is a collection of previously released songs from the "Ford One" and "Ford Two" 12"s, and tracks which will be released on the "Lucy EP" in the near future. What, nothing exclusive?? Sit back and relax, let the RhymeSayer do his thing.

After a 4-year hiatus and many other projects, the man known as Slug (aka Sean Likes Ugly Girls) finally gives us his second installment of an Atmosphere full-length. It is almost impossible to compare their previous release, "Overcast!" to Lucy Ford, because they are on completely differeny frequencies. Oddly enough, they will still appeal to the same audience.

Slug is one of those emcees who is jocked worse than the strap itself, and this is not without reason. Listen to the song "Scapegoat" off of "Overcast!" and you will find out why. However, he has morphed into a completely different emcee in the four years between albums. The differences are a lot more than skin-deep; the Slug you thought you knew from tracks like "1597" is deceased. He's been replaced with a more emotional, deeper, poetic man who is more confused than Holden Caulfield. In some cases this works to his advantage, while in others he pays the price. Creativity has its downside - you can stumble upon things that will not appeal to others. This happens rarely on Lucy Ford, but the occurance is still there. Do not get me wrong though, this album will satisfy your Atmospheric needs until 2005.

"What it is, it ain't. And what it ain't, it is" is precisely how this album kicks off, as "Between The Lines"' jazzy beat and sing-song lyrics rock through your speakers. Slug takes you on a journey between the lines of reality, which ends in suicide for him. Morbid as it sounds, the track is great and one of the best offerings of Lucy Ford. The next song brings on Slug's everyday life, and for him every day '..was "Like Today"'. There is nothing too memorable on this song, but it still does make for a good listen.

The beats switch up rather quickly from laid-back to the fast guitar loop of "Tears For Sheep". Slug has no choice here but to tear the microphone ass-backwards with lines like "they say a picture is worth a thousand words, well I beg a thousand pardons for each word I've used for personal gains / but the letters that float through my head to mold my sentances / could never be contained by your simple picture frames". That old crowd-rocking, boasting emcee does come through on "Guns and Cigarettes" and "It Goes", and his new style really shows during the beautifully written "Don't Ever Fucking Question That" and the horribly confusing "Aspiring Sociopath".

"If I Was Santa Claus" has Sean playing the role of Chris Cringle. Do we really want RSE stickers all over our stockings?? Anyways, ANT's beat is nothing short of amazing with a very Christmas-sounding beat carried by bells. Hit up track 7 when you put Lucy Ford in your CD player, because this is my pick for the album's best track.

Tracks 9 through 15 are the ones which were featured on the Ford One and Ford Two releases, with the exception of "Mama Had A Baby And His Head Popped Off". For those who have not yet heard these tracks, "Free Or Dead" is the story of a man and his car, "Party For The Fight To Write" is an anthem for all the rhyme writers out there, and "Lost and Found" is about Slug's supposed lack of knowledge.

Everyone wants to make their mark on the world before their time runs out, and "They're All Going To Laugh @ You" tells this tale. Jel shines on the boards with a low, horn-driven beat. "The Woman With The Tattooed Hands" is a very well-written personification of good and evil; another classic penned by Atmosphere.

Finally, if you scan through all the silence at the end of "Nothing But Sunshine", a beat provided by El-Producto will start up. The long-awaited collabo of El-P and Slug is hidden on this album within another song, and why I will never know. Both kick verses about growing up in NY or Minnesota on "Homecoming", a definite banger.

Atmosphere has caught a case of the dreaded 'we have come to expect too much of you' syndrome, because even though this is a solid album I am still somewhat disappointed. It may be the fact that some songs sound rushed, the utter confusion of "Aspiring Sociopath", or the general absense of battle raps. However even with this stated, Lucy Ford is still a tight album in what looks to be one of hip-hop's most promising years in a long time.