R4PC4MP is new group with some old friends, Lucas Dix and Blake Ambrose. The two first met each other growing up in Wisconsin, but now both reside in Portland, Oregon. Dix had been out there for several years, working on projects like Jellyfish Brigade and Shut-ins and the Colony, but Ambrose only recently moved out to join his friend in the Pacific Northwest. So while they’ve known each other for a long time and have made appearances on each other’s projects, this is the first time we get a proper album from the two as a duo. It’s time for Somebody Gotta Hold The Balloons.

For this album, R4PC4MP turned to producer Brass Clouds, who you might remember just worked with Lucas Dix to release a series of EPs under the name BCXLD. What this means in practice is that the whole album feels like a warm blanket as Brass Clouds lays down the gorgeous, lush, laidback beats. This provides a great platform for Blake Ambrose and Lucas Dix to just hop on the mic and trade rhymes like they are in a cipher for forty-six minutes. It’s not an album that’s concerned with singles, it’s just an album that you kind of jump in and go along for the ride, as these two trade rhymes about everything – their childhood, their struggles and triumphs as artists, and discussions of life philosophies and politics, all sprinkled with some jokes and pop culture references. We get some guest spots along the way from Stephen Sauer, Bloodmoney Perez, Dug, Abadawn, Guess Prefontaine, Dig-Mode, and Shut-ins, but the vibe is always the same. This just feels like a great summer party with good music and good friends, where good conversation takes you into the night and you lose track of time. The result is an album that just immediately feels familiar, like you’ve been listening to it for years.

Somebody Gotta Hold The Balloons will make for some great listening as we transition into the summer and you want to chill with some friends on a hot summer night. It’s thoughtful, it’s passionate, but most of all it’s just a whole lot of fun to listen to.