On rare occasion, we get to witness a run of music from one artist where it all comes together, and something truly special happens. Most artists are fortunate to have one album where they are at their best for the length of the entire LP. When we’re really lucky, the right combination of talent and ability within an artist lines up with the right outside factors to bring us an impressive string of releases. I don’t want to get carried away and make any unfair comparisons, but Open Mike Eagle is in that special zone right now. In 2011, he released one of the strongest albums of the year, Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes, an expansive and challenging collection of songs that saw Open Mike Eagle take his music to the next level. Following up something like that can be a daunting task, but Eagle has shown us that the album was no fluke. Now part of the ever-expanding Fake Four family, Eagle teamed up with Machina Muerte producer Awkward to create 4NML HSPTL, once again challenging listeners to question everything they knew about Eagle, hip hop, and themselves.

Working with Awkward allowed OME to focus on a particular sound for the album, and that works to great advantage here. With a heavy dose of synthesizers building a futuristic, hazy dreamscape, Eagle has the perfect setting for an album where he’s set out to challenge our sensibilities about society and how we struggle to make logical sense of chaos. If this sounds weird to you, good - I’m doing my job. What makes the chemistry between Awkward and Eagle so interesting is how Awkward will establish a beat or riff that feels a bit mechanical, whether it be from a rigid drum track or sci-fi-inspired keyboard sounds, which then allow Eagle’s gentle half rap/half silky croon to float above and around the music. That will then be complimented by some really subtle and nuanced flourishes by Awkward that really flesh out the sound. It’s a style that you’re not likely to find on another album this year.

With this stage set, OME takes full advantage of the situation and lays down some of the most interesting and engaging lyrics you’ll come across this year. If you want to get lost in some existential storytelling and delve into the heavy question what’s real and what’s not, listen to “HSTPL.” Are you looking for a song that draws on They Might Be Giants and incorporates a narrative style that comes across like a hip hop version of Camus’s The Fall? Eagle’s got you covered with “Universe Man.” How about a song that references Ben Folds Five while Eagle and Has-Lo analyze the tension and progression of niches within hip hop culture? Listen to “Your Back Pack Past.” Looking for a rant against the current economic and political climate? “The Financial Crisis That Wouldn’t Go Away” picks up where “The Financial Crisis Song” left off several years ago now (Damn, that’s depressing). How about a self-deprecating humorous dance track that’s actually about how hard it is to make ends meet? “Dancebill.” I could go on, but suffice it to say that Open Mike Eagle manages to cover a lot of ground, with a careful balance struck between humor, frustration, anger, love, fun, and melancholy. He switches up deliveries, rhyme schemes, and narrative structure to give us an album that continues to unfold in new ways with each listen. I’ve been listening closely for a couple of weeks now, and I know there’s still much left for me to digest.

Open Mike Eagle had his hands full reaching the high bar he set with Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes, but he easily matched it with the completely different sound of 4NML HSPTL. This is one of the best albums of the year.