2011 has been a good year for IV the Polymath, having already released a solid instrumental EP in January, and then an excellent collaboration with emcee Jondis as i.deals in June. If that wasn’t enough, he’s giving us a full length collection of instrumental hip hop to close out the year, and it is some of the best work he’s done to date. The Indiana-based producer, working with a combination of sample-based hip hop beats and live instrumentation, has given us a varied album with a wide scope of sounds and solid grooves.

The groove is something that can’t be talked about too much without sounding like you’re some combination of stoned or crazy, so I’ll keep it brief. Basically, you can’t fake your way into finding a groove, you have to feel it. And IV can feel out a groove. Above all else, I feel like that’s what makes New Vs. Old a rewarding listen. It might be that some tracks are more your speed than others, but New Vs. Old passes a simple test that you never know you’re administering until after the fact. Every time I put this album on to give it a listen, I’ll inherently start to multi-task, maybe check my email or read the news, but before I know it, I find myself rocking back and forth in my chair, nodding my head. Now, I can and will delve into the different musical terrains he covers here, but I just felt the need to discuss this, because it’s such an abstract yet crucial piece of music. You can diagram where a beat’s supposed to hit, and where the bass line is supposed to come in, but you can’t fake the funk.

I knew New Vs. Old was going to be good from the opening of the first track, “2 Weeks,” which re-contextualizes some Fela Kuti-esque samples into his own midtempo funk. A few tracks such as “Lions” or “What’s Your Motive” veer into some Galactic/Medeski Martin & Wood territory, laying down some chilled out jazz-funk led by keyboard melodies. “Next 2 You” has a nice West Coast feel with some great funk guitar and nice understated use of short vocal samples calling out “yeah” and “hey”, but is driven by a simple-yet-effective melody on the keyboards. “Planet Z” hints at some early RJD2, and “Masters of Sound Interlude” sounds like it could have a home on a Brand New Heavies record. The most undeniable funk on the album, and the one that’s sure to get people dancing is “Manhattan,” which could easily be a Pete Rock track. Lest you think he’s getting predictable, IV steps out in some more unexpected directions as well, such as the title track, which makes use of some Eastern European string samples over busy drums creating incredibly tension and really raises the energy level.

If the title of this record is hinting at a new chapter in IV’s career, I’m excited. He’s released solid material before, but New Vs. Old shows a new level of confidence in his sound. His sound is more varied than ever, and yet it remains coherent over the course of forty plus minutes, all built on a solid foundation of funk.