Oneirology could well be sold in the instrumental version only. Although the performances of the rappers Natti and Deacon The Villain are great, the production by Kno without a doubt plays the leading role on the fifth official longplayer of the Cunninlynguists. The group from Kentucky is known for atmospheric and melodious, sometimes melancholic songs since they began in 2000, but on this LP Kno raises the bar as far as the production level and the combination of different musical elements are concerned. The intensity of sound is almost overwhelming. That is why the rap-parts sometimes get a little bit lost, although they definitely deserve to be heard.
Do not hesitate
On Oneirology there is no pussyfooting, the album instantly takes off and gives the listener this distinctive Cunninlynguists sound, like it has been evolving since A Piece Of Strange in 2005 at the latest. A dense musical landscape consisting of long struck organs or keyboards, rich drumsets, lots of piano, guitar, scratched vocal samples. Natti, Deacon and producer Kno take turns on the mic and enrich the songs with smooth and metaphorical lyrics. The beginning of Oneirology sets the mood with some solid tracks that are not too outstanding. But perhaps that is exactly the kind of sound we need to remind us what has been missing without the Cunninlynguists – before we can get deeper into it. But to this point still something is missing and even the remarkably great amount of singing cannot change that. Songs of the Cunninlynguists have always unfolded a very atmospherical and moody sound without loads of vocals. Less has been more.
Dream as a concept*You may have problems grabbing everything that is happening on that very diverse album when you first hear it, especially some of the poetic lyrics may fall through.
It takes until song five, before Oneirology reaches full speed. The banging track Murder (Act II) surprises the listener with a playful synthesizer-arrangement and drags him out of the sound-jungle that has been established to this point. After that My habit (I haven’t changed) reaches depths like you might know them from earlier songs like Mic Like A Memory or The Gates. Stars Shine Brightest features Rick Warren singing the catchy hookline and being the first single released, finally makes clear what you at this point should already know: What the Cunninlynguists do, is of damn high quality! The squeaking e-guitar combined with the melodic and smooth bassline might well be one of the best arrangements, Kno put out in the last couple of years. And songs like this prove that Kno is one of the best and most distinctive producers in modern day Hip Hop.
Apart from the above-average production there is more to find out on Oneirology. If you have a close look at the lyrics, you cannot avoid the term concept album. From the beginning to the end a big part of the lyrical content deals with dreaming as a central theme (Oneirology = Interpretation of dreams). Also, the dreamy instrumentals and the samples being used refer to that overall theme. Additionally there are very smart concept tracks like Hard As They Come (Act I), in which the rappers assume the roles of well known ghetto-killers – crack, booze, Aids.
On †œOneirology† you can hear smart and calmly spitted lyrics being placed in a banging, soulful und unbelievably dense instrumental landscape. The LP has no difficulties to achieve quality standards like the listener might still know them from A Piece Of Strange and somehow sounds way better then Dirty Acres. You may have problems grabbing everything that is happening on that very diverse album when you first hear it, especially some of the poetic lyrics may fall through. But listen closely, it is worth it. You may start with the instrumental version.
