It’s hard to imagine a better title for J.J. Brown’s new record than Connect the Dots. The main theme of the album seems to be that all music is linked to each other by the people who make it and the people who love it. Brown obviously fits in both categories and he succeeds here in not only stringing together his favorite sounds, but in taking their various parts and building an impressively cohesive whole, a whole that not only speaks to his talent but proves his album’s thesis on the interconnectivity of music correct. While not flawless, the LP is immensely enjoyable, a sustained vibe of aggressive, though not violent, energy carries it and with few exceptions it manages to hold the listener’s attention over the course of its hour running time. Throughout those 60 minutes Brown and a handful of collaborators, most notably longtime conspirator Louis Logic, make stopping points at ’60s Bubblegum, ’70s Heavy Metal, ’80s New York boom bap, ’90s G-Funk, Dilla’s ’00s oeuvre, and a dozen other places in between. Brown and company want to draw a clear line between all the sounds relating them all back to one basic idea: music, at its most uplifting, is a celebration for those who make it.
The album is riddled with highlights. “The World’s a Stage” takes the music of James Brown and marries to an OutKast sample and accentuates both with strutting piano and irreverent vocal drops. “Frozen Prose,” which shows up in two forms here, features a catchy chorus by Brooklyn Academy‘s Block McCloud, with colorful production bursting with details from synths and chipmunk Soul croons and faux-sitar plucking and a string sections and more. Eastern tinged guitar and thudding drums make “It” a standout track, as does a sparse production job from Brown, which is complemented by Poison Pen‘s laid back, side of the mouth delivery. “Watch the Star Shine” could have played out like just another piece of artificial nostalgia-humping, but J.J. Brown’s recreation of Rick Rubin‘s ’80s Def Jam sound make it record. The album’s two best tracks are showcases for Brown and Louis Logic, respectively. “You & Me (Bombay)” finds Brown disassembling then reconstructing the Jackson 5’s “ABC” into an ode to the Gin of the song’s title. Brown takes a familiar song and isolates strands of it while highlighting the great drumming of Gene Pello, specifically his cymbal work, and makes a propulsive rhythm track of his own, albeit from already impeccable source material. “He Is I” is Logic’s spotlight moment and he makes the most of it, the track is a G-Funk leaning, Snoop Dogg-quoting platform for Logic to go in and he does not disappoint.
The record, as mentioned, does have some lesser moments. J.J. Brown has a clear and confident flow but with little of consequence behind it and little variation tonally throughout the record. This is isn’t a huge problem, as the album’s overall mood is positive and its purpose is to be the soundtrack to your good time. In fact the artist stumbles most often when he tries to tackle overly serious themes. “Fantastic Four” is old school posse cut that features some heavy hitters, but nonetheless breaks up the party-like flow of the album. “Brother In Arms” features great breezy production touches, seventies lite-Funk guitar and mellow electric keys in the background, but Brown’s tale of lost loved ones is incongruous to the beat and the results are a little jarring. Last and least there is “Grand Groove” whose fanciful swirling prog organ sticks out awkwardly against the ham-fisted backing beat while guest Travis McCoy, of Gym Class Heroes, drops some corny lines about sexing your daughter after meeting her on MySpace which could be unsettlingly accurate.
But don’t worry about those missteps as they are easy to skip. The main thing to focus on with Connect The Dots is how good a job J.J. Brown has done creating a record that is an eclectic but cohesive, positive yet forceful celebration of all the music he loves. A lot of artists try to make music out of all their disparate influences. Most of them end up sounding too much like their heroes than themselves. Brown has pulled off the trick of making an album that is clearly indebt to the past but not beholden to it, he made his influences serve him and not the other way around.
