Minnesota duo Atmosphere consisting of vocalist Slug and producer Ant are stalwarts of the independent hip hop scene. Despite some commercial success they have always stayed true to their brand of sound and DIY work ethic.

Southsiders is their 8th studio album. This album has a more bluesy feel than earlier albums however it is a sound that has been creeping in over the last couple of albums. The lyrical content has clearly matured from the earlier albums. I recently heard and interview where Slug talks about how he portrayed a character in the earlier albums and over time he found him self becoming that character. This sounds less like hangover regret and more like adult introspect.

The lyrics are cryptic so expect that it will take at least a few listens to take it in. On first listen some lines sound a little corny but on repeat listens it did not bother me as much. Ant’s production is solid from begging to end. This is my favourite Atmosphere album in a while.

The first couple of videos are also good especially the Kanye West video.