Changing the pace of Hip Hop, it’s Swelo

by Scott Wilson

Swelo is not what I expected. When I was first introduced to the music of the New Orleans rapper he sounded like a funkier Flight of the Concords, based off a few YouTube videos. But Helvetica is a serious album. Not serious in content, but serious in concept; his lyrics and singing voice are cheeky, but his subject is sincere.

Helvetica, Swelo’s second full-length album, is full of the types of love songs you might actually want to play around your sweetheart. The way he layers multiple versions of his voice, one high and one low, gives the tracks a fun atmosphere, and the way he plays with language keeps the songs from growing stale when you hear them over and over. Swelo is a crooner -just look at some of the photos on his Facebook, all ladies in the first three rows, like a mix of R. Kelly and Jack Black. He’s the type of guy who writes a song for bumpin’ and grindin’ and calls it “Fish Tacos.” Or another way to look at this album is that it’s the kind of music that your friend can have a dance floor make-out session to, but you’ll be happy just listening, waiting by the door with your coat.

Speaking of “Fish Tacos,” one of the relieving parts of Helvetica is that it isn’t designed for radio play. If a track needs to go over three minutes, as the aforementioned one does, it’s free to go on. Almost half the songs are four-minutes or more, but none over six, because that could get a little tiring. There’s another side to that coin though, Swelo’s comment on commercial music, “#Bangerz” is not really necessary to the album. It’s a song where he raps about rapping, which is all very meta and fine, but a little too clever. You get the joke after minute one, but it goes on for three more minutes.

Genre-wise, Swelo classifies himself as ERRTHANG, which is accurate. The beats are electronic with some hints of analog looping, the melodies are swooping and swooning, and he raps. Each track has a distinct sound and can stand alone as a single, and blends well with the subdued but silly tone of the album as a whole. At 43 minutes for 12 tracks, it makes a good record for car trips across town.

Helvetica was released September 16^th. That one track not withstanding, it’s a solid record and worth showing to your friends.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5tvzTAVrlI