Newmerika

Sometimes the old “judging a book by its cover” adage comes at you full blast. With a press kit that makes a huge fuss over their multi-race band members (like it’s groundbreaking), plus song lyrics that contain the band name (as annoying as spelling out words in lyrics, which they also do), I fully expected to hate Newmerika. Hate ‘em like I hate jelly shoes. But I could not have been more wrong.

With just one listen, Newmerika proves that accessible, refreshingly tuneful rock rap is possible if you just focus on the groove, strip out all the excess filler, and let the songs breathe.

And it turns out that they place a heavy emphasis on their races and religions because the music is a deliberate cross-cultural fade. They’re not boasting social altruism — they’re crafting a message that utterly depends on their ability to blend rock and roll with hip-hop, and also to fuse varying belief systems into one big allowance of “respect.” Really, if the whole world were to mirror the social and theological dynamics present in Newmerika’s music, we would be living in a modern Paradise.

But social themes aside, the “She’s On Fire” EP is musically sound. Newmerika exhibits influences as varied as Led Zeppelin and Pete Rock and CL Smooth, topically plying everything from dark angst to political commentary. Some Newmerika tracks are available on Myspace, and “Doo Dat” is a stand-out favorite with its sick groove and clever lyrics (in spite of the aforementioned spelling, etc, for which they have been forgiven because the material is so good.)

Newmerika’s backbone is a duo known as Phonz (vocals) and Hollywood (guitars & vocals) with Chubby Billions adding turntables. There’s also the vital rhythms courtesy of Joe Cool on bass and Funknasty at the kit. Newmerika’s musical idea is delivered frankly and directly, no holds barred, especially on the somewhat disturbing title track about a tragically unlucky woman. Chubby Billions employs great breaks and samples, Hollywood’s guitars propel the songs forward and Phonz’s casual, smooth rapping is both poetic and rocking. Hopefully this EP will be followed up by a full-length, because Newmerika’s really got something here. (Lexi Kahn)