Review: Brotherly duo exceeds expectations

by Braden Schroeder

Many mixtapes and many months finally led up to the release of the, The Specktators’, debut album The . After many mixtapes, Packi, the group’s lyricist, and his brother Moe-T, the duo’s producer, were finally ready to tackle an album.

Originating in Lansing, Michigan, The Specktators moved out to Los Angeles, California, to chase their dream of succeeding. Since moving to California, they have released several singles and a debut album.

The Parlay did not disappoint, but really did surprise me because of how good it was. Music by The Specktators prior to The Parlay did not seem to have a meaning behind it. The album was very strong and flowed with hits such as “Time Will Tell,” “Jumpoff,” “Forever Feel,” and “Pacific Time.” All of the songs had awesome instrumentals that really supported the vocals.

A song that I really enjoyed was “Jumpoff.” The song starts with a funky tune but as the song progresses, it increases speed and then changes into a whole different tune that is much faster than the beginning. I am also a big fan of the meaning of the song. Packi is trying to say that he is much better than the other rappers and that he can do things unlike anyone else. Plus, I admire his confidence.

My favorite song on the whole album is “Pacific Time.” It is the longest song on the album running at 5:23. For the first 54 seconds of the song, it is just an electronic instrumental, which I believe builds emphasis on the first verse of the song. As the instrumental plays, it changes tune and speed. While listening to “Pacific Time” for the first time, I could not help but tap my foot as I got into the music. My favorite line in the song is, “ Girls I ain’t really talk to back home all wanna hit my phone right now tellin’ me that they miss me, beggin’ me to come home right now.” This line summarizes the whole meaning of the song, which is that people did not care for him when he was not famous, but now that he is famous, they want to care for him. He has become someone else now and is a whole different person that does not need those kind of people.

Something that goes unrecognized in music is the instrumentals. Moe-T did a great job on working with Packi in order to make the instrumentals relate to the vocals. As the lyrics tell a story, so do the instrumentals.

Every song has a perfect equalization of the intrumentals and the vocals. I can clearly hear every beat while listening to the vocals at the same time. It never seems to be overwhelming to the point that I get sick of the song and turn it off.

While I love the album, there is one thing that bothers me: the majority of the songs are about the same topics. An album should have songs about multiple topics. But despite this small aspect, the album seems flawless to me.

It was very hard to narrow down the three best elements about The Parlay. First, I liked the lyrics that contained great meaning. Other rappers rap about subjects that are not relevant and do not make sense. On the other hand, Packi raps about what is happening in his life and about how he is making it big.

Secondly, the instrumentals were phenomenal . Every song has awesome instrumentals that really help to support the vocals. Even in songs that have lyrics that are not very strong, the instrumental makes up for it.

Finally, Packi exhibits confidence in every song on the album that he talks about himself or The Specktators. He raps about his confidence that he will succeed. Remaining positive and confident can be difficult, because many others share the same dream and few the dream comes true.

The Parlay does not just show The Specktators true talent, but also provides a glimpse of what to expect in the future from the group. As long as they can get publicity and continue to make albums as great as The Parlay, in the near future we may see The Specktators at the top of the charts.

 

 

Review: Café 27’s quaint dining options impress

by Mikayla Rehor

It was 6:30 on a typical Friday night. My family and I walked into a quaint little building in downtown New Albany called Cafe 27. The first thing I noticed was the stamped tin ceiling, beautiful hard-wood floors, and the authentic brick wall. I also noticed that the café was a bit on the tight side, but they had an overflow room just beyond a rustic warehouse looking door. On the other side of the door was a small bar area.

The hostess and the servers at the café were inviting and attentive. The manager was extremely outgoing. He seemed to know everyone and spent time to talk to people and hugged others. I thought that all the workers acted like a family; if one person was really busy and another wasn’t then they would go help them out. It was refreshing to see them just go above and beyond what some chain restaurant servers would do.

After a brief 15-minute wait we were led to a little booth where our party of five could barely fit. We quickly ordered an appetizer of two types of hummus and warm pita bread to sooth our growling stomachs. Once it was time to order our main dish I decided to be adventurous and try the apple cider chicken sandwich. It was grilled chicken, marinated in apple cider on a sourdough bun. I was happily surprised at how good the sandwich taste. Another member of my party stuck with a classic burger called the cafe burger. The burger was a half-pound of tasty Angus burger on a pretzel bun with a few condiments. My dad chose a dish that is not very common to many local restaurants, Fish-n-chips. The fish-n-chips was cod that had been battered to perfection with Kentucky bourbon ale. My dad thought that it was very tasty but was unfortunately on the small side. All the other dishes were so good and big that we had to take them home. Amazingly the dishes were still delicious when we ate them later on in the week.

I would consider Café 27 as a type of place that you could go to for a date at the bar or even a place for the family. Though on the pricey side, the dishes and experience were worth the cost. Overall, this warm and cozy café is a keeper.