Milwaukee producer LMNTlyst has been making music for years, but is still unknown to a lot of hip hop fans. I’m not sure why, but perhaps it’s because his music is so eclectic and odd, people have a hard time pinning him down. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have scene/background/label support of someone like Madlib. I don’t know. Working as a multi-instrumentalist/producer/engineer, he gives us his latest instrumental album, Popcorn Earworm, and he certainly makes his case as one of the most interesting and eclectic instrumental artists working today.

One element that will hit you immediately upon listening to Popcorn Earworm is how much accordion is featured across the record. That’s just the beginning, though - there’s guitar, bass, toy piano, melodica, glockenspiel, kalimba, ukulele, violin, percussion, turntables, synthesizers, and drum machines. It might seem a little weird or off-putting to some at first, but I encourage all to stick with it. Any bit of novelty will wear off quickly, once you realize how much more is happening on the record. When you take the time to listen to Popcorn Earworm a few times through, it will really sink in just how complex LMNTlyst’s arrangements are. There are many times throughout the course of the record where I’ll lose myself in the music for a while, then something odd will catch my ear, and I’ll think, “Wait - how did we get here?” Not only does LMNTlyst cover a lot of ground, but where he really shines is how well he mixes elements within one song, not just from track to track. For example, in “We Don’t Even Live Here,” he manages to mix classical guitar and violin, dub/hip hop drum and bass, layers of keyboards, and 8-bit samples, without anything sounding out of place. It all comes together in a fashion that I never would have thought of myself, but it works remarkably well. Add in a variation in style from track to track as well that reminds me of everyone from Gotan Project to Tommy Guerrero, and you have a complex listening experience. LMNTlyst brings it all together, though. Popcorn Earworm isn’t a short album, but it’s so well arranged and composed , I often find myself getting so lost within the music that I reach the end of the record without realizing it.

As with most down tempo instrumental records, Popcorn Earworm does require a little patience to get started, especially if some of the elements seem unusual to your ears. However, if you can get over that hump (or if none of this seems weird to you in the first place), this is a very rewarding record. Hopefully this record will not only get LMNTlyst the respect he deserves, but it will also encourage the more unusual side of the Milwaukee hip hop scene. We need more of this.