Chances are that even if you’re not familiar with Dallas artist Creative Mind Frame as a solo artist, you’ve seen him hop on stage or on record with another nerdcore artist, playing saxophone or rhyming. That said, as great of a collaborator as he is, he’s also a solo artist whose last release came two years ago, when he dropped Nerdcore Emulation Station 3. Now he comes back with an EP called Standard Deviations.

It doesn’t take long into listening to this EP to realize that this project is about two things – having fun and collaborating with friends. Over the course of eight songs, we get guest appearances from Mega Ran, Billy Big Lips, Ohm-I, Coolzey, Kadesh Flow, WISE, JoeEnyo, Khamal Leon, EyeQ, and Wordburglar. Creative Mind Frame produces about half the tracks, but also gets some assists on the beats from Vince Vandal, DomDom Jordan, Josh Bedford, and Ohm-I. So basically, all the friends are in the pool as we get these fun and nerdy songs about Chapstick, Pi Day, video games, and so forth. It’s plenty of fun, and you’ll have a silly good time listening to all of these nerdcore artists rhyme about the mundane and the escapist parts of life. As I was first listening to the EP, though, the one thing that I felt was missing was that moment or two where Creative Mind Frame might get a little more serious about a subject and let us get to form a more personal attachment to the music. My wish was answered on the last track, “All The Love,” where he and Leon, EyeQ, and Wordburglar get a little bit gushy and spread some good vibes as they rap about what love means to them. It might sound a little sappy, but it’s a nice tender moment on an otherwise goofy project that adds some depth to the listening experience.

Overall, Standard Deviations is an entertaining project that celebrates the collaborative community amongst nerdcore artists. There are plenty of laughs and good beats to liven up your next gathering this summer. However, with just the simple addition of one serious song, Creative Mind Frame is able to crack open the door just a little bit to hint that even bigger and better things might be coming down the line. I’ll be curious to see where he goes from here.