Saskatoon producer Factor Chandelier has given us a lot of music over the years, whether he’s collaborating on full length albums with the likes of Ceschi, Myka 9, Kay the Aquanaut, and others, or when he’s delivering complex solo albums. Just last year, he gave us the grand and rewarding concept album about the buried history of his home town, Factoria. Now he comes back with a different type of solo album in Wisdom Teeth.

Factor has been known to deliver some interesting concept albums in the past, whether it be last year’s Factoria, or going down the rabbit hole of Woke Up Alone a few years back. This time around, though, Factor opted not to get as bogged down in the concept of the album, and just deliver the solid hip hop album that he knows he can make, combining instrumental tracks with a few vocal guests coming in to spice things up. There is a general theme of “coming of age,” and Factor is expecting his first child in a few months, but you’re not going to find a direct narrative or anything on this album. Not that it’s a bad thing, but Factor has delivered such complex work in the past, there does feel just a little bit of a need to explain that this is “just an album.” That said, you’re not going to be disappointed. If you’re not familiar with his music, and you just heard the opening track, “Goes,” you might start to form your own ideas about the type of downtempo album this might be. But then you get to the next track, “The Gospel,” featuring Ceschi, which is a sort of trap/‘80s synth-pop ballad, which is pretty unique to say the least. As the album continues, you do get all of these twists and turns. Factor is more than capable of carrying an instrumental track, with memorable melodies that stick in your head, and compositions that really build upon themselves. These beautiful instrumental tracks are woven amongst some truly unique vocal tracks, like “Scratch-Off Lotto Tickets,” which features Astronautalis, who brings his perspective to the track by delivering these gruff, introspective verses, only to flip the song at the chorus and sing this really sweet and sunny melody that will quickly become a fan favorite. There’s the ominous sound of “Super Things,” which features Myka 9 taking us on an abstract journey through the mind, which plays well against this regal horn line that Factor puts in the chorus. Perhaps the biggest surprise comes towards the end of the album, when you get to Saskatoon singer-songwriter Taylor Jade, who comes in to sing this really sad, poignant, and sad song with “Lives an Ocean.” On most hip hop albums, this would sound extremely out of place and wouldn’t work, but because Factor is so versatile and thoughtful with his production, and is able to tailor his sound to fit with each artist he works with, it ends up sounding perfect on this album.

Wisdom Teeth isn’t Factor Chandalier’s biggest or most ambitious album, but that doesn’t make this album disappointing at all. Sometimes you just want to deliver an album that’s just a collection of good songs that fit together, and that’s what he’s done here. It’s only because he’s been working at such a high level and for so long do you need to take a step back and appreciate how good this album is on it’s own.