Extra Kool & Satyre

Extra Kool and Satyre once worked together as Optik Fusion Embrace, and the two recently teamed up again for this album full of wry observations and playful musical experiments. It opens with “Optik Fusion Is Dead,” a Danny Elfman-esque recounting of the duo’s history since the breakup. “Everyday Living” is a pointed self-examination disguised as a lighthearted, hip-hop pop song. “Costumes” is a dark tale of a profoundly dysfunctional relationship gone worse. Kool has always been willing to write a poetically unsentimental take on the events in his life, and with Satyre, he exposes his fear and pain to a degree not seen since Creature From the Whack Lagoon. Blending a mainstream sound with underground ideas, this album eloquently gives voice to the frustrations of all creative people in the world as it is today.