Wolf Windblade Reintroduces Himself with John Sarastro-Produced Debut Album “Windblade” (Album Review)
This is the full-length debut from Queens emcee & professional illustrator Wolf Windblade. Emerging a decade ago off the strength of his debut EP Adofo, it wouldn’t be until this past Christmas Eve where he returned to the music scene & followed it up with his previous EP Mperfect. But in order to introduce to himself to wider audience, Swiss producer John Sarastro is being enlisted to help Wolf achieve that goal by lacing Windblade from start to finish.
“spar play wordplay” is a boom bap opener to set the album up reminding everyone that hip hop is the art of saying what you mean from your heart whereas “Urbanear EGT 2022” follows it up by taking a more drumless approach calling to protect the children. “Windblade’s Tail” tries to ensure the peace he bring balances a curse with the way of the Naga clans being air & iron just before “Hotmouf” jumps on top of a bare bass guitar to talk about being at the point now where he’s fed up with the twisted vision.
As for “Lafayette’s Trail”, things take a more mystical yet soothing approach to the beat welcoming everyone to the world of EAT & dropping timeless tape for the mutant mindless leading into the dark ambient inspired “Scythe” talking about changing the world with maniacal sentences chockfull of syllables. “Chanbara’s Recall” returns to a more drumless vibe albeit with a darker flare to it talking about N.Y. in the 70’s as well as Jersey in the following decade, but then “Wintermission Arcadia” is more of an interlude with it’s strings & spoken word delivery.
“Universal Uptop Headwind Dislocation” comes through with a more experimental sound referring to himself as simply a mantis with visceral semantics & a guillotine hand grip while “Silverfox Titan’s Vertigo Maneuvers” weaves some pianos into the fold to declare himself to be a beast on a beat who fight over meat in the wolfpack”. The song “Jing Cong Valyu” is a spacious boom bap heater telling the tale of a gender-neutral name of Chinese origin steeped in royalty & cultural innovation emerging from the Zhou dynasty while the penultimate track “Da’vid 2021” brings back the bass guitar wishing we had time for meditation. “Wind Dance” though finishes the album on a spiritual note from the woodwinds to the lyrics calling the world a perpetual knockout.
For those’ve you who’re unfamiliar with Wolf Windblade’s first couple EPs that he broke out onto the scene with, then I’m sure this debut album of his will sure to leave a lasting impression on you going into & coming away from it because . The production that John Sarasto cooks up here completely caught me off guard & I mean that in a good way considering the unorthodoxy of sounds that he has to offer with Windblade profoundly paying tribute to the past’s present future tense connectors.
Score: 8/10
