I probably said as much when talking about “Idle Minds,” but The Advocate Brigade has always been more than just another rap-rock band. Of course, nu-metal and similar crossovers between the rock and urban music worlds have always successfully combined the sonic grandeur of the former and the dexterous wordplay of the latter, but few bands managed to find the real potential in that unexpected coming together of styles.
Thankfully, The Advocate Brigade has always been smarter than most bands working this musical seam. Over Drew Crawford’s atmospheric six-string cascades, the three emcees blend their silver-tongued salvos, talking from their own life experience, words from the wise, a passing on of the baton from those who know how the world works.
And if “Idle Minds” ran on a skittering, staccato groove, this time out, it is a more melodic and mellifluous sound that is the song’s engine room. Even Crawford’s blistering and brilliant solo is the stuff of understated eloquence rather than in-your-face aggression.
Considering that rock and rap music tends to deploy its musical arsenal with aggression and energy, the stuff of volume and velocity, The Advocate Brigade’s work here reminds us that there is another way: sometimes it is about seduction and style…or, as the adage says, less is more.
Well, this is the sound of the less being so much more.
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