Ambitious, funky, sophisticated, and triumphant
This is more contemporary than Jaspects' previous albums, fusing jazz and electronica with pop production values. But THE POLKADOTTED STRIPE is one of the most exciting collections I've heard all year. Witty wordplay and social commmentary are woven through an often seamless concept album boasting top notch cameos from vocalists Janelle Monae, Chantae Cann, and PJ Morton. The bombastic opening track “2012” plays like the score to a futuristic disaster movie and glides into the deft middle-finger-to-Uncle-Sam jam “Fallin.” The next highlight is the churning, sonically aggressive “Be Your Man” which effortlessly gives way to its feminine counterpart “Find My Way To Love.” Overall this set proves to be a much-needed lift of creativity and musicianship in the landscape of contemporary music. Just shy of 48 minutes, it ends way too soon.
