Lifesavas

Gutterfly: The Original Soundtrack

(Quannum)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

“All I got is my balls and my word,” Lifesavas declare on “Freedom Walk,” echoing Pacino in Scarface for a bracing slice of hip-hop activism that comes near the end of Gutterfly: The Original Soundtrack.  With an aggravated beat and on-point lyrics—and welcome guest appearances from dead prez and Living Colour’s Vernon Reid—it’s one of the best tracks on an album that teases old blaxploitation melodrama, cribs enthusiastically from ‘70s funk, but keeps its feet firmly planted in the present.  There’s a party vibe on a good chunk of Gutterfly, but this is serious business, too.

The drama that the album “soundtracks” is included in scene snippets where Vursatyl, Jumbo the Garbageman and DJ Shines all get to chew on alter egos.  These interludes aren’t great, but also aren’t as jarring as some hip-hop skits—and have the added benefit of helping establish the overarching narrative of Gutterfly as a whole (essentially about three “ghetto superheroes” who are trapped in a Gotham-like dystopian future vision of the group’s Portland stomping grounds).  Sometimes, too, even a disruption in momentum can be useful, as Lifesavas tackle a variety of styles on various songs; the gritty, on-the-streets flow of “Freedom Walk,” for instance, benefits from a breath of interlude air before closing out the album with the old-school street party scene of “Celebrate.”

That diversity is one of the most rewarding elements of Gutterfly.  Vursatyl readily acknowledges that he and his partner Jumbo aren’t always on the same page when it comes time to dig into the material, and this seems to have helped them from settling into a comfort zone and churning out material that all seems wed to a template.  Instead, there are complete throwbacks with sunny vibes right alongside smoother ballad jams and harsher, more modern (or futuristic) set pieces.  Not surprisingly given such a wide range, there are a couple missteps along the way—but Gutterfly’s wealth of smart beats and sharp lyrics ensures that it will continue to build on the buzz generated by 2003’s Spirit in Stone.