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Lazer Sword

Available now from Innovative Leisure

Antaeus Roy and Bryant Rutledge might have originally bonded over a shared love of hip-hop, but when they join forces as Lazer Sword, their music sounds like the future... or maybe future blap, electro crunk, or one of the other awkward monikers that's been invented over the years to describe the project's particular sonic brew. Marrying thick basslines, clattering beats, and heavy low-end with synths equally informed by vintage electro and countless childhood hours parked in front of the TV playing Nintendo and Sega Genesis, the duo's sound is certainly unique, the product of years spent honing their craft. Now, after dropping a slew of remixes (both official and bootleg),  mixtapes, and The Golden Handshake EP for the hotly tipped Numbers label, Roy and Rutledge are ready to unveil Lazer Sword, their self-titled debut album.

Primarily written and recorded in the duo's former San Francisco stomping grounds - Rutledge recently relocated to Los Angeles while Roy has set up shop overseas in Berlin - Lazer Sword not only sounds bigger, better, and more fully realized than anything the pair has ever done, it also finds them employing the help of a few friends. That includes guest appearances by  Antipop Consortium's M. Sayyid, Freestyle Fellowship MC Myka 9, Bay Area hyphy don Turf Talk, and bizarro funk crooner Zackey Force Funk. But it's the Lazer Sword boys themselves who truly shine here, whether it's the ghostly vocal samples, skittering percussion, and vocoder funk of first single "Batman," or the hip-hop stomp and swirling synths of album opener "Tar." Detailed and intricate, Lazer Sword is certainly suitable for headphones, but with beats that slap this hard, these songs were made to rattle speakers and rumble dancefloors.

 

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