Whenever

Description

Discover the new surprise album from the duo Atmosphere, Whenever, released digitally in December 2019. For more than 20 years, Atmosphere has probed the hidden side of what it means to be human with a fierce curiosity. Ant’s dark production gave momentum to Slug’s evolving, grounded pen. While Slug has gone from “backseat rap” to “rap while holding hands when you cross the street,” Ant has become a master of crate-digging and of unearthing humanity from a drum loop. Thriving at the intersection of the guttural and self-effacing, Atmosphere will be regarded as one of America’s finest archivists. On Whenever, the duo continues to move at the same pace. In the smallest details, they are still wrestling with mortality and the need to protect emotional energy, as on previous records, but there is now a quiet romanticism, with Slug sounding — reluctantly — in love with life. And no other producer can draw truths from a rapper the way Ant fishes the blues out of Slug. Whether it’s the shimmer of “Bde Maka Ska” leading into vibrating guitars, or the uneasy skitter of “Lovely,” Slug finds obvious comfort in working with Ant. “Postal Lady” tells of the simplicity of Slug’s life over a warm, enveloping production, while “Romance” recalls God Loves Ugly with its rippling glitches, as if we were crawling through Ant’s drum machine. It is clear that the pair’s harmony reaches new heights.