Astronautalis – You And Yer Good Ideas (CD) (2005) (FLAC + 320 kbps)

If Beck were a decade or so younger and had grown up more heavily immersed in hip-hop, his debut album likely would have sounded much like Astronautalis’ You and Yer Good Ideas. Although his delivery tends to be slightly marble-mouthed, Astronautalis is definitely a rapper who sings the occasional chorus, as opposed to a singer who dabbles in rap. The settings on You and Yer Good Ideas, however, are uniformly lo-fi indie rock: acoustic guitars, wheezing harmoniums, weedy little vintage rhythm boxes, and tape hiss so prominent that it counts as an instrument are the basis of most of these songs. The songs themselves are as mellow as Teenage Fanclub and Modest Mouse getting together to jam on their favorite Neil Young songs, rarely raising much beyond a stoned mid-tempo wander. The combination perhaps doesn’t seem like it should work, but most of You and Yer Good Ideas is entertaining in a low-key, lackadaisical way. Particular highlight: the shaggy dog tale “Somethin’ for the Kids.”

It was only after having chosen the name Astronautalis for himself while in high school in Jacksonville, FL, that the rapper (born Andy Bothwell) began to make himself heard in the local circuit, winning battles and competing at the Scribble Jam. Though he was known for his witty freestyling, Astronautalis’ musical influences and interests fell outside the hiphop realm, as well, and he performed on the Warped Tour for three years. It was his rhyming, however, that he pursued while studying theater at college in Dallas, and in 2003 he selfreleased his debut, You and Yer Good Ideas (which was sold only at his live shows), with production help from friend and fellow musician Ben Cooper (from Radical Face). It wasn’t until two years later that the album was picked up by Orlandobased Fighting Records (who signed him after seeing him perform).

Tracklist:

01. Gastone Ave
02. Tightrope
03. Oceanwalk
04. Hurricane Isabel
05. Somethin’ For The Kids
06. I’m Never Right (with Isaiah)
07. People Often Tell Me I’m Good At What I Do
08. Baggage Claim
09. Fax Machine
10. Fourth of July (with Radicalface)

Download:

FLAC – Wayshare

320 kbps – Wayshare