Believers

Audio Mixer: Ben Cybulsky.
Recording information: Bay 8 Studios, Miami, FL; Mayday Studios.
Even the genre-combined tag of rap-rock threatens to pigeonhole the diverse group known as Mayday, especially when it comes to their 2013 effort Believers. Here, there's rap-rock that is scary, angry, and firmly the kind of stuff the Strange Music label tends to offer (check the opening title track, which is a revolutionary creeper with swagger) but there's also some psychedelic-relic rollers that seem time-machined in from the Daisy Age (tell any old-school fans that "Unplug" is a new Digable Planets cut and they'll fall for it), plus some completely pop moments that dazzle and glisten ("My Life" sounds like the infectious meeting of Outkast and Black Eyed Peas while "On That Jack" is a good-time drinking tune that could make the Chris Webby set jealous). Strange thing is, everything works, and yet Believers doesn't flow as well as 2012's like-minded Take Me to Your Leader. Still, it's best to think of this album as a worthy second choice rather than a significant step down. ~ David Jeffries