“Infinite gives you everything you want”
While we’ve gotten a couple of EPs in the past couple of years, it’s actually been a while since we got a full length album from Sweatshop Union. Has it really been five years since Water Street? I suppose it has. The Vancouver group has still been active, though, releasing said EPs and exploring side projects like Pigeon Hole and Dirty Circus. That said, it’s nice to get album number four.
Fans that spent time with last year’s Leisure Gang EP might recognize that much of that release is folded into this album, which is a little strange, but in the context of this much more fully realized album, everything sounds even better, so I'm not too upset about it. The six member group always sounds good on a soulful, midtempo track, and the title track opens the album with a great laid back beat that allows the different emcees to trade verses. The song works as a manifesto for where the group is these days, still pushing a message of love to their fans. Lyrically and musically, the group manages to cover a wide range of material. From the classic hip hop of “Infinite,” we immediately move to the weirder and more introspective “Sink or Swim,” which features some dubstep/dancehall elements playing with processed vocals and lots of synthesizers during the chorus, while moving to a more minimal production during the verses that allow for the lyrics to take hold. There are fun songs, such as the laid back “King of the Beach,” and songs that push their aggressive and experimental side, such as “NVSBL,” but none work as well for me as well as “Love.” It features some interesting production elements while still remaining very straightforward and accessible, and reminds me a great deal of The Visionaries’ “If You Can’t Say Love,” which is one of my favorite songs of all time, so that’s a plus as well. Amongst the newer material, my favorite has to be “Listen Up,” which closes the album. It’s a beautifully drawn out and well-developed song with really personal lyrics, driven home by a perfectly placed sung chorus by fellow Vancouver artist Claire Mortifee. The combination takes the song briefly in a Massive Attack direction, but instead of going all in, they pull back and bring the production back around to the beginning of the song, making it all their own.
Hardcore Sweatshop Union fans might be a little confused about the inclusion of Leisure Gang with the new album, but once you get past that, this album works very well. It’s not perfect, but it gives you everything you want out of a SU album. Infinite is the result of a group that after all these years is still having fun trading verses and experimenting with production styles, all while pushing their audience to always strive for more and to be thankful for what they do have.