producers: meaty ogre, dj whitelightning,

guests: robust

This must be one of the best album titles in some time. It gives us the necessary and furthering amount of images that create the setting we will let our ears wander around. It also means that we are poking around between pawn shelves of left backs, that are of personal value, but of a general normality. And while it would be blowing up this finding out of proportions, in a way Qwel's music will always be the family diamond, that in an overcritical public magnifying glass is more nicely polished glass. But this reviewer should be biting his tongue for saying such a thing, as it comes close to a small child, that after a tickle me Elmo is eyeing a Furby. Or that he's praising the features of said furry thing, but once finally getting one, is feeling unexcited and is only able to respond with a stale shrug. But we probably should cut the sugar coating and say what is trying to be formed with our lips...

Qwel is a member of the Typical Cats and everything we hard from him, and we shall include this record, was of dimensions that we took in like dry skin welcomes moist. But in the case of this album, there seems to be something lacking. And that something is coated with Teflon, as no description seems right enough to have it stick to the analyzed object. Digging for examples, we will stumble across the similar flow on all the tracks, the needling voice and also the bare, and do we dare to say, sometimes underproduced beats. With again this word not being right, as the constructions are actually complex. That's a threesome that's mentioned due to pure biased flavor preferences and not without acknowledging that this reviewer mush have foggy goggle on, that spoil the scenic view.

If we dig deeper, there's "Proof 101", where Meaty Ogre draws a piano out of his swamps, that's reduced but shoulder enough for Qwel to do a rhyming style so often done by many. But in this case, it's a refugee we only visit from time to time, as he's mostly about something else, while this is of braggadocios proportions. There's also an obligation to mention "Hall Of Mirrors", due to Qwel spitting his words in an intoxicated fashion, and we talk about him babbling not in content, but actually sound. The title track "If It Ain't Been In A Pawn Shop, Then It Can't Play The Blues" marks the preferred style to appear, as Qwel is mixing his watcher findings with the philosophical deities that keep him turning, all of which attached to a White Lightning beat.

There's light beams, sun radiation and bundles of rays coming through the branches on "Good Friday (Government Music)", as a live band (at least it sound like that) are providing the lighting to illuminate the poetic clearing. With having so much to say, there's only room for few guests to be allowed to extract some voice time from Qwel. And so it's only Robust who is featured on "Art Of War" and "$19.99 A.D.", with the first being coupled with a rather chaotic Lightning beat, and the other while done by the same producer, is a soulful offerings, that is manifesting as one of our favorites, due to the changes and that string organ. We then can add an instrumental "Meaty's Lament" to that favorites list and can count "My Ex-Girlfriend Plays Keyboard For Tom Petty's Band" amongst the instrumental, while "Chicago Barbeque" again makes it onto the list. However, cuts like "Brick Walls" (that features an ill lyrical argument) or "Plexiglass" are the reason this album is not yet fully escaping the beaten quicksand.

What then again makes us find words to express what is troubling us. As the focus can't just be on the trim content body of the lyrical appearance, that's giving us enough of all of what we are always demanding: intelligence, creativity and skill of expression, in whatever field it is walking in. But it looks like some of the beats have trampled down parts of the corn, the voice is a bug, that we are tempted to terminate with pesticide. However, if we take a close look, this album is still equivalent to a huge field that will provide an even bigger harvest. That however also means that it will be hard work to bring it in.