The Last Drop

N.A.S.A, The Spirit of Apollo – How the hype can turn on you so quickly… Pitchfork almost made this band a national name before the album release and then slag them with a disastrous review of the full length. How fickle indie rock bloggers have become. Me, I just stuck with it, kept my mind open and gave the album a spin. And (not so) surprisingly, I disagree with the indie music critical royalty. Not only did I find this album enjoyable, I would easily recommend it as a classic. Of sorts. If you are looking for a collaboration heavy record that is somewhat conscious, somewhat mainstream, and very listenable/party ready, get this album. I first listened to Apollo while running and almost ran an extra 3 miles to make it through the entire album. Very engaging, fun, and big. While others found the collaborations to be heavy handed, I just found it compelling. A killer Tom Waits vocal performance on “Spacious Thoughts” is my personal favorite among the juxtaposed hip hop to rock to indie pop pairings. The concept (North America, South America) is a little hokey and the intro and outro could easily have been excluded. But the main content was extremely enjoyable. Just because it is accessibly does not make it awful, people. Name dropping collaborations are somewhat shameless but can also yield quality. I found The Spirit of Apollo a delightful hip hop treat. So Don’t Believe The (Pitchfork) Hype!