Click album cover to D/L.

Slopes, the new 12-song album from State Of The Artist makes it pretty clear that the fellas Parker, Hy and Young TH sound their best when rhyming over tracks by longtime production partners, LA-based Ski Team. Just saying. Much of the material here reminds me of the brief but very Pacific Ocean fresh Hank Moody EP which SOTA dropped post Cali-relocation 2009.

Breezy, wistful party jams where you can practically feel the sting of the salty Pacific Coast air in your nostrils is the order of the day on Slopes. The easy good-life-affirming flows of Parker and Hy settle into a nice balance with tracks like “More Than Fine” where the aim is to please the speakers in your ride as well as the ears of the nearest squad of mini-dressed breezies. TH’s more rugged delivery is the necessary shot of bitter in SOTA/Ski’s otherwise smooth Old Fashioned.

Seattlecalifragilisticextrahelladopeness was SOTA being generously inclusive but trying to please too many people. On the electro-oriented Altered State, the crew strayed too far out of their lane. Slopes, on the other hand, finds the trio sounding exactly as they should.