Algorhythms is a breath of fresh air in today’s hip-hop climate. While most of their contemporaries are content with endlessly repeating themselves and sounding like almost everyone else in the game, Thirtyseven and Dr. Quandary are here to set standards and put multimillionaires to shame.
Their eponymous EP, released a year beyond their stated deadline, is worth every minute of your listening time. At the foundation of each track, Dr. Quandary creates complex but understated masterpieces using samples as diverse as the theme to Reading Rainbow (“Cracked Open”), and Hunter S. Thompson (“Audrey Hepburn”). Yet, it is a testament to his considerable talent that the album does not sound at all disjointed or schizophrenic. Rather, it has a very smooth feel; old movies seamlessly integrated with intuitive, crackling drumbeats. With each subsequent listen, I’m even more in awe of Dr. Quandary’s masterful production. Each sample comes alive with the organic warmth and soft hiss of vinyl – a subtle but profound effect on the album.
The other half of this dynamic duo is Thirtyseven, the most honest rhyme specialist I have ever heard. Putting egotistical puppets to shame, he imaginatively crafts words into spirals of intelligence and optimism while all the time bouncing between absurdity and sharp observations on life,
It’s been awhile since I sat down and wrote to a beat,
Nowadays I’m an out-of-place opium freak.
I still bark at the moon and bite marketing dudes.
You will not see my album in Target this June.
- “What’s This?”
Chillax,
Fall back on your genetic design.
Just let it unwind, learn to feel its breath on your spine.
‘Cuz if it happens, it happens.
I am not concerned.
Watched it burn, finally at a loss for words.
- “Graph Paper”
Listening to the album, it’s clear that Thirtyseven isn’t simply stringing words that happen to rhyme together. With a skill that I envy, he gives us a glimpse inside his head and I get the notion that it’s a fun place to be.
All in all, Algorhythms’ self titled EP is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. I’ve listened to it easily a dozen times in the last week or so, and although it’s under half an hour in length it never gets old. These two are incredible and you need to give them a listen. Fortunately for us, they’ve decided to release the EP for free on Mediafire. You can find it here.
Our Arbitrary Numerical Verdict:
Alex Wirtz is an electronic musician and writer based in Milwaukee, WI. 
