Peter Project, Fresh EP

By Megashaun

Based on how much I loved and listened to Peter Project’s self-titled debut (reviewed in Popshifter ) I had some rather high expectations when I had heard he released a follow-up in the form of a bar of soap.

Wait, what? A bar of soap is an unlikely choice for an album medium until you think about it. It’s normal to refer to new excellent music as “fresh” and nothing gets people fresher than the cleaning power of soap. Peter Project’s Fresh EP then, follows through on freshness in more ways than one. It’s a concept album, really!

The bar of soap is iPod shaped. As for how you listen to it: simple. First, stop trying to plug your headphones into it. Next, use the soap and get the download code embedded in it.

Now that you’re (presumably) freshened up, you’re good to start listening to Fresh. The EP opens with “Simply Fresh,” a track that’s comprised of a hilarious amount of distorted vocal samples referring to hygiene over a thick drumbeat, synth strings, scratching, and occasionally what sounds like videogame sound effects. The many layers of instruments and samples fade at times, letting the percussion take the spotlight. As the opening track, it also sets the vibe for the album, so if you’re not bopping your head to its groove by the end you probably don’t like having ears.

“Unorthadox” has rapper More or Les fulfilling lyrical duties over a more upbeat track featuring some great sampling of “Love is Blue,” a song covered by so many artists that it’s hard to tell which recording it came from. The rest of the song is built around this sample, with bass, drums, and keys complimenting the original’s string arrangements even when the sample isn’t being played. This is definitely my favorite track from the EP. More or Les’s contribution is tight yet also laid back, and he manages to fit in comedic timing (lampooning Kayne’s “Imma Letchu Finish,” I might add). “Unorthadox” also has a pretty badass jam-out ending. Sidenote: More or Les is fucking incredible.

The tracks “The Quest For Extreme Personal Freshness” and “Rubbin Garbage (In Your Face)” are mostly instrumental and, like “Simply Fresh,” feature some more choice samples about cleanliness. Actually I’m little embarrassed to admit this, but these tracks are so strong I only just realized these two don’t have any rapping over them. “Rubbin Garbage (In Your Face)” gets ridiculously heavy at the end.

Masia One‘s vocal delivery in the first verse of “In Retail” is as aggressive as the lyrics condemning trust fund kids that do nothing but shop. Wordburglar‘s contribution in the second verse seems chill by comparison but his words are just as scathing. A chorus beautifully sung by Maylee Todd caps each verse. As a fan of music that sounds pleasant but has aggressive lyrics, I love this track.

As if the rich music wasn’t enough of a reason to get Fresh, the EP is only $11 when purchased directly from Fuzzy Logic Recordings and comes in a bar of handmade soap. That’s like getting two great things for the price of one. If that doesn’t sound like a great deal to you, you stink (and could probably use the soap, which smells great, in case you were wondering).

Check out Peter Project and Fresh on MySpace. And watch this video of “Unorthadox” from TORO Magazine’s Garage Band.

RELATED LINKS:

Peter Project, S/T, Popshifter January/February 2009 issue