Review Summary: If someone makes an album, and no one's around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Okay, so, the Chicharones. Raise your hand if you've heard of them. Really? NO ONE? It's quite sad that 2005's "When Pigs Fly," a release that can easily rival that year's king hip-hop album "Graduation," has gotten about as much press as I have. Which, seeing as I'm writing a Sputnikmusic review at 10 PM on an album from a duo no one's heard jack *** about when I have an essay due in the morning, means none.
So anyway, getting to the actual album here. There's some fantastic moments here, but nothing like "When Pigs Fly". Humor still runs rampant here (although nothing seems to humor me here as much as "Bully Bully" did on the last album), but the beats are not as great here. There's a much bigger pop emphasis here; "Hi Hey Hello" and "Spotlighting" are some examples of the attempts that the Chicharones are making to hit the mainstream. (They're both fantastic tracks, by the way.)
The cool thing about the Chicharones though is that their style is unlike any hip-hop group I've ever heard. Sleep and Josh Martinez, along with their DJ whom I have no idea what his name is (sorry), are fantastic in creating these super-catchy, stick-like-super-glue-on-duct-tape-to-your-head beats (see: "Spotlighting"), while at the same time, producing this ridiculous flow that shows up in every song they rap in. Sleep especially can hit some home-run raps (see: "Burn It Down", "5000"); Josh, however, does not have nearly the same abilities, although he can spit some great lyrics every once in a while.
Now, I'm not saying the Chicharones are perfect, though. The entire concept of "Gangsta Mama" is quite dumb to begin with (although the early "College Dropout"-Kanye West-style sample is fantastic), and "Bankers Bonanza" is a bit sloppy overall. Really, the album feels very poppy; it reminds me more of Josh's solo albums than anything else (which isn't exactly something they want to strive for.)
Overall, "Swine Flew" lacks the spark that the Chicharones had in "When Pigs Fly". That said, it's a good album with a lot of pop influence and just enough infectiousness to occupy your head's thoughts the next day.
