Album Of The Week: March 3rd-9th, 2014

My Album Of The Week for the week of March 3rd-March 9th, 2014:

Medium Zach - Valued Input

01. Live In Color (w/MaLLy)
02. Upward (w/Metasota)
03. More Than Superman (w/Slug)

I have a couple of rules when it comes to my Album Of The Week:

1. It should be a Minnesota artist (though exceptions can be made).
2. It should be at least 4 songs.

Until this week, I hadn't broken rule #2.  However, when I downloaded the three songs that make up Valued Input, that rule went right out the window.

As you hopefully all know, Medium Zach is one half of Minneapolis hip-hop mainstays Big Quarters (his brother Brandon Allday being the other half).  I've been a fan of those guys going back to the buzz of their debut album Cost Of Living in 2007.  In the seven years since they've, gone from talented upstarts to one of the most respected & consistent acts in the Twin Cities.  They've put out a staggering amount of music since then, but more importantly, everything they've put out rewards repeated listens.  Hell, just last week I was listening to the instrumental version of Cost Of Living and finding things I hadn't noticed before.

I saw BQ several times while they were promoting that album and they've always been genuinely nice guys and excellent performers.  Specifically, I remember my friend Phil & I attending the release show for Fall In Love, their collaborative EP with Mux Mool.  There couldn't have been more than 50 people at the Turf Club, but they put on a fine show, making a point to engage with all 50 of us in the room over the course of the night.

If I had to pick just one word to describe Medium Zach's musical style, it would be "thoughtful."  I realize that not every rapper would want "thoughtful" to be their defining adjective, but I'm willing to bet Medium Zach takes it as the compliment it's intended to be.  Whether he's rapping, constructing his own tracks, or remixing somebody else's work, his attention to detail always shines through.  His songs rarely "bang," but rather stake their claim by carving out their own sonic space via patience.  Every word & sound has a role to play in Zach's songs.  Nothing is superfluous, everything is necessary.

As you can see from the track list above, Medium Zach does almost no rapping on this album.  No matter. The three MC's above bring their own styles to Zach's beats and, in a testament to the quality of Zach's work, each rapper is able to stick to their own style instead of twisting their flow to fit the music.

Valued Input is available to download on Medium Zach's Soundcloud.  Give it a listen.