Birmingham artist Erthling. has emerged over the last couple years as one of the brightest stars in the scene, working as part of groups like 729 and Pen Pals as well as a solo artist. Just last November, he released his debut full-length solo album, the stellar Infloresco. Now, as a short and fun project, he gives us the simply titled sum flips.

Sometimes you just need a bit of a palate cleanser. After releasing his most ambitious work to date last fall, and with more projects in the pipeline, Erthling. felt the need to put some music out into the world, giving us this fairly straightforward beat tape. The key with a project like this is that while it doesn’t allow you to see all the tools in the tool box that a producer might have, it does allow you to see if the artist resides somewhere in the middle, or if they have reached a higher tier and are capable of elevating a collection of short instrumental tracks such as these. In case there was any doubt, Erthling. demonstrates that he is clearly in a higher tier, using these short one to three minute instrumental tracks to invert expectations with how samples and loops are going to play out, effectively communicate mood, and then really throw you for a loop by included a provocative clip from a Mike Tyson interview. It’s the type of project that looks like filler on paper, but in Erthling.’s hands, it becomes something that you can’t ignore.

Erthling. is a talented emcee and producer, but it’s all about the beats on sum flips. It’s short and sweet, but Erthling. manages to pack a lot of interesting ideas into the small space and give you plenty of food for thought.