The Hood Internet put themselves in a difficult position with their debut album. For the last five years, the duo of Chicago deejays STV SLV and ABX have gained notoriety by releasing a series of mixtapes through their website, which featured mash ups of hip hop and indie rock artists. The were able to set themselves apart through a combination of the sheer volume of tracks they released and the quality of work that went into the mash ups, coming up with some unique combinations of artists that were mixed together very well. Eventually they made the move into original production, recently working with artists like BBU, and Max B & Isaiah Toothtaker. After all this time and building up a sizable fan base, they have finally released their first full length album of completely original material, to mixed results.

FEATt is an album that suffers from the constraints of expectations. Had they released this album four years ago, it would have been enjoyable, with the slip-ups excused as growing pains as they figured out how to translate the style developed on their mixtapes into an original album. After five years of releasing mixtapes and playing festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, though, expectations begin to build and pressure mounts. If they’re taking this long to make a record, it better be pretty amazing, right? This is unfair to do to an artist, but it’s hard to get out of this mindset as a fan, especially when the artists in question have spent this long forming an identity that sets them apart from other producers and deejays. This is all to say that while there is plenty to like about their debut album, The Hood Internet have left me pretty under whelmed with their first effort. The album is full of guest artists intended to continue their sound that finds a meeting point between hip hop and indie rock. Some of the pairings are really interesting and work quite well, such as A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers and Sims from Doomtree on “One for the Record Books,” or “Our Finest China,” which pairs The Rosebuds with Astronautalis. Sometimes it falls really flat, though, such as “Won’t Fuck Us Over,” with Annie Hart and BBU, which feels really forced, and desperately wants to be an anthem, but I’m not quite sure for what or for whom. The production feels like some generic Wocka Flocka beat with a synth pop chorus, but neither side of the coin is particularly intriguing, and the combination of the two doesn’t elevate things either. The lyrics aren’t doing anyone any favors, on top of all of this. Ultimately, the problem with FEAT is that even when it succeeds, it’s at best interesting, but never truly exciting. There’s no point on the album that made me say “wow!” or makes me want to go back and uncover things on the record. On the flipside, the low points on the album aren’t all that terrible, but after a couple of listens, I had already found myself skipping over several songs, which isn’t good.

FEAT isn’t a bad debut, but it does leave a lot to be desired. For artists this far along with the other aspects of their career and lofty expectations coming into the project, the album just isn’t as good as it could have been. Hopefully they are able to continue working and experimenting, though, because I still feel like they are capable of a great album. They just haven’t gotten there yet.