North Carolina producer L’Orange has been making quite a name for himself over the course of this decade, with a combination of solo releases and collaborating with the likes of Kool Keith, Mr. Lif, Stik Figa, and others. The last time we heard from him was last October, when he dropped a solo album by the name of The Ordinary Man. This summer sees him pairing up with a lesser known emcee from Wilmington by the name of Solemn Brigham to form the group Marlowe, who now release their self-titled album.

Most people going into this album will probably know L’Orange, but not Solemn Brigham. The good news is that it will not take long for Brigham to win you over once you press play. The Wilmington emcee is just a ball of charisma, with a big voice and a melodic flow that is absolutely bursting with energy. Not to be outdone, L’Orange comes in with some of his most banging production to date. He still finds plenty of room to work in some vintage samples and adds a touch of psychedelia to the proceedings, but overall, he’s dropping some pop-friendly beats with big drums and big horns. When it all comes together, Marlowe has a sound that’s most reminiscent of Typical Cats, which is more than okay with this listener. Lyrically, Brigham is just as interesting, with dense wordplay that is one part clever and humorous, one part personal and relatable, and one part that is here to break down societal problems like race and economics. It all adds up to an album that is incredibly entertaining, while remaining musically and lyrically dense, so that you pick up on something new each time you listen to it.

Marlowe is a great summer release, packed full of hip hop that sounds great blasting out of your speakers, most certain to get the party started. At the same time, you could just as easily listen to it on headphones and try to catch all of the subtle nuances of L’Orange’s production of Solemn Brigham’s witty lyricism.