RJD2 - The Third Hand

This is US artist/producer/DJ/multi-instrumentalist RJD2’s third album now, and in a move that is on the verge of gobsmacking in the somewhat stale music industry, he has recorded an album that bears little resemblance to his previous efforts. Having gained a great deal of credibility and plaudits with the hiphop-centric albums Dead Ringer (2002) and Since We Last Spoke (2004) it is interesting and bold move for his debut release for XL.

The initial differences are that it is the first time that live instruments have been used, all but four of the fifteen tracks feature the singing of the man himself, and, as a result of the first two it is pretty much an album of pop songs. That said, while there is no doubt that it is externally a stylistic departure, below the surface RJD2 sticks to what he knows as far as production values go, with the whole album sounding extremely slick.

For the most part there are more layers to each song than you can identify, with multi-tracked, effects-laden vocals on top of a variety of instruments and other knob twiddling. After a brief instrumental intro, ‘You Never Had It’ proves that the drum machine is still an important weapon in RJD2’s armoury. A keyboard-heavy pop song with a traditional chorus it is an introduction to the pervading sound of the album – namely quirky pop melodies over well-constructed beats. The majority of songs follow this pattern, generally climaxing in a simple, single phrase chorus. Whether it is “You never had it so good”, “Have mercy” or “Take it easy”, this simplistic approach on top of more complex, well-produced backing tracks proves that that the man knows a thing or two about writing pop songs.

It seems Mr D2 has been listening to a lot of soul records because a lot of the time, The Third Hand sounds like just that – a 21^st Century soul record in the Gnarls Barkley mould. ‘Have Mercy’, ‘Work It Out’ and ‘Sweet Piece’ in particular mix soul, hiphop and rnb sounds to good effect. There is still time for more traditional RJD2 fare with the beat-heavy instrumentals: ‘Get It’, ‘The Bad Penny’ and ‘Paper Bubble’, but the highlights of the album are ‘Work It Out’ and ‘Beyond’. The former is a brilliantly strange song that sounds like something from a futuristic musical. With its bizarre chorus “Whoah lazy man, you broke the laws of the gods” and babbling about philosophy, it would not be out of place on the Klaxons’ record. The latter’s old school hip hop beat and keyboard is a pleasing reminder of just whose album you are actually listening to.

Clearly RJD2 has lots of ideas. And in an attempt to introduce his new sound and still find time for more conventional RJD2 tunes the album stretches to a rather excessive 15 tracks. As a result, at times the smooth, laid back almost “jazz club” groove of some of the tracks can mean they pass by without notice.

Sounding somewhere between Simian before they went mobile, Gnarls Barkley and Scandinavian pop, this album is certainly different. Though a reinvention of sorts, it seems unlikely that RJD2 is after world domination with The Third Hand. It has the hallmarks of a pop album but remains singularly quirky and reliant on beats and samples. Once you get past the shock of the different sound, it is a rather pleasant album that perhaps just drags on a bit long. It is hard to predict whether existing fans will appreciate the change, whether he will attract many new listeners and, indeed where this music fits in the overall scheme of things. In any case god bless RJD2 for having the inclination, nay balls, to do something different.

***

First published on rockfeedback.com. See it here.