The San Antonio group known as Chisme have been on a little bit of a hiatus since Progeny moved to Seattle, but that doesn’t mean that the individual members haven’t kept busy. Progeny worked with the group Heron and released a project with Soultru. Now emcee R.E.L. is making some noise of his own, working with producer Bryan Hamilton to release an EP called Summer Heat.

Summer Heat is very appropriately titled, with a sound that feels like some hot Texas nights, the kind that feel like a warm blanket. Bryan Hamilton might not be a name you recognize, but he’s been making music for several years now, as part of the Dreamland Collective and Aliens With Halos, as well as working under his own name. He brings a slightly different feel to the production than Progeny, leaning a bit more towards some Houston roots with slowed down gospel and soul samples and some really staccato drum machine hits. This pushes R.E.L. to adjust his style on the mic just a little, but not so much that you lose the emcee from Chisme that you knew and loved. He’s still dropping these little lyrical nuggets loaded with keen social observations, abstract imagery, and wordplay that will make you want to pause and rewind. While there are all of these really intellectual elements to the EP, it’s also something that you can just put on, pump in your car stereo, and enjoy through the dog days of summer. It’s always nice when projects work both ways like this one.

Summer Heat is short and to the point, and it delivers on the goods. R.E.L. and Bryan Hamilton have good chemistry together, and they’ve made a great soundtrack to get you through the rest of the summer.