Doomtree – All Hands

By Sarah Howard

The Minneapolis hip hop collective, Doomtree does it again. After a long wait since their last record No Kings that released in 2011, the crew went back to the cabin and came out with another phenomenal album, All Hands.

If you’re unfamiliar with Doomtree, the crew is made up of: POS, Dessa, Cecil Otter, Sims, Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger and Mike Mictlan. Lazerbeak and Paper Tiger are the masterminds behind production with the help of POS and Cecil Otter. The lyrics and hooks are created by emcees Dessa, Sims, POS, Mike Mictlan and Cecil Otter. Each member brings their own personality and style to the group. Another quality that makes this crew unique is that they work together as a team but each have their own solo projects and tours as well. For each Doomtree project they work on, they go to a cabin in the middle of Minnesota without phone service or Internet to focus on making music.

“Gray Duck” was a great first single to release from album. It’s a prime example of what All Hands has to offer. It shows an excellent amount of hype energy from the emcees, as well as the unique sounds and technique the producers use.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCJJ5aR5vwA[/youtube]

It’s hard to pick a personal favorite but “Cabin Fever” definitely caught my attention. Dessa’s intro verse is flawless. Then the production layers that pick up with Sim’s and POS’s parts make me feel like I’m killing it on Sega after grade school. Of course, I mean this in the best way.

Overall the casual listener can easily catch on to the aggressive sounds and catchy hooks. On “No Kings”, the hooks were Dessa heavy, but this time around we hear more from the gentlemen. Not only will the causal listeners appreciate the production and hooks, but also the intellectuals will love the punchline packed verses that each emcee brings to the table. With such a large number of artists working on one project it’s amazing how cohesive the album came together. The emcee’s diverse rhyming compliments the nexts throughout the entire album. The voices and production flow match perfectly, there’s not one wasted verse on the album. It’s a great come back from the crew and every Doomtree fan will be more than pleased. The album’s the best the crew has put out yet and was definitely worth the wait.

Doomtree: Official Site | iTunes link

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