IV cover
Released

The Torontonian jazz-funk ensemble that first broke big reverse-engineering hip-hop back to ’70s Blue Note vibes went sprawling everywhere on this one with eclecticism as deep as their beatmaker inspirations’ crates. Instrumentals like the exploding Mancini-freakout “Speaking Gently” and the ’70s-Quincy Jones-score-worthy “Structure No. 3” are every bit as expressively unpredictable as the big-ticket with-vox collabs (Mick Jenkins’ sing-song flow insinuating unfathomed mind expansions on “Hyssop of Love”; Sam Herring devastatingly ruminating on “Time Moves Slow”).

Nate Patrin

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