Live From The Dentist Office by Injury Reserve

Injury Reserve are an Arizona based hip-hop group consisting of emcees' Ritchie with a T and Steppa J Groggs, as well as producer Parker Corey. Live At The Dentist Office is the group's second release, and it is very different from their debut release Cooler Colors which featured a boom bap hip-hop style, on the new project however, the group opts for a much more alternative hip-hop style.

The hip-hop scene is crowded with tons of groups and collectives at the moment, with acts like Flatbush Zombies, Pro Era, The Underachievers, A$AP Mob, Overdoz, and plenty of others who have all grown and gained exposure over the last few years, in large part thanks to the explosion of internet rap. With that being said, I was curious to see exactly what Injury Reserve would do to seperate themselves from their peers, and to be honest, I don't find the direction they took all that impressive. 

On Live At The Dentist Office the group takes a more alternative approach to the genre, as I mentioned. They also take a fairly saterical and comedic approach to song writing, ala up and coming Boston based emcee Michael Christmas. However, instead of coming through and delivering laid back, humor filled songs that are still very thought out and well put together (like Christmas), Injury Reserve often drop lines that have me questioning their relevance to the song. Coming from a group who called themself "the only good rap act in Arizona" it's surprising to see them not take their music seriously. 

One of the bright spots on the project is the production of Parker Corey, who delivers on track after track with talented instrumentals. Each cut carries a very different vibe, and contains tons of different instrumentation. While that makes the project worth a listen on it's own, it at times, leads me to feel as if perhaps the instrumentals are wasted, and as if other alternative hip-hop acts could have served them better. 

That's not to say there are no instances of good songwriting, as the hooks on the majority of the tracks are catchy and simple, something that works to the group's advantage. Tracks like Whatever Dude, Friday, and Washed Up are guaranteed to be stuck in your head for hours. Speaking of Washed Up, the track is one of the better in the track listing in my opinion, and instrumentally, it reminds of something I'd hear from producer/hip-hop artist Kid Cudi, as it's dreamy sound combined with the very haunting piano keys is something that isn't executed this well by many others aside from Cudi. 

The closing track is easily one of the worst on the project, as the track drags on for nearly 7 minutes, without much progression or lyrical concept. It leads the album to a very bare and boring close, something that doesn't match up well with the energetic hook focused tracks that the group put together prior to the closer. 

Did Live At The Dentist Office blow me away? Aside from the production, not at all. However, with all things considered, it's still a catchy, laid back, hip-hop project in an era where rappers are constantly taking themselves way to seriously. My only hope for Injury Reserve, is to see them really separate themselves from the rest of the talented hip-hop collectives, and mature with their lyrics, because if their instrumentals can be met with lyrics of the same caliber, there's no reason why they can't stay relevant for a very long time. 

Rating: C+

Favorite Tracks: Whatever Dude, Friday, Washed Up, Whiplash

Least Favorite Tracks: Yo, Falling