Check Out Vibe’s Incredible “Love the Future” Review
Posted by chesterfrench on Friday, April 24th, 2009
This is one of our favorite reviews of the album yet. Make sure to check it out and leave a comment on the post on Vibe!
Chester French: “Love the Future”
Maiya NortonHarvard’s finest ace their first test
While most students were cramming in the library, Maxwell Drummey and D.A. Wallach were hustling to finish their demo in a Harvard University dorm. Bored with the music on the radio, Chester French tapped influences as wide-ranging as The Beatles and OutKast to formulate a uniquely original sound. In 2007, their retro, yet modern, mash-up caught the attention of Pharrell Williams, who beamed the college seniors up to his Star Trak label after a tug-of-war with Jermaine Dupri. Two years later, the Massachusetts pair’s debut, Love the Future, hits and is aimed directly at the girls in Jimmy Choos.
Chester French are like the kids who blend in with every clique in school. They float easily between pop, indie rock, and hip hop, earning some street cred with their recent mixtape, Jacques Jams, Vol. 1: Get Familiar with Chester French, which featured Common, N.O.R.E., and Clipse, while poaching N.E.R.D rock fans with new wave-y lead single, “She Loves Everybody.” But while they’ve triangulated the market and earned their rap bona fides, Love the Future is ultimately an homage to ’60s pop, full of heartache and break, but little hip hop swagger.
Many of the songs here were penned during Chester French’s tenure at school. They’ve tweaked the lyrics and refined their production techniques, and it shows on songs like “C’Mon (On My Own),” a mixture of swelling strings, snares, and guitar riffs. At times, Wallach’s crisp vocals recall The Beach Boys’ Carl Wilson, as he echoes over the upbeat “Time To Unwind” and “Not Over You.” Known for their playful charm, Chester French gets serious on the piano-heavy “Fingers,” where Wallach softly coos in a simple, unguarded falsetto, “And the fingers of your mind have wrapped around my spine, and made me feel so blind.” Multi-instrumentalist Maxwell shines on the interludes when his curly-haired-counterpart steps aside and the focus shifts to intricate musical arrangements and dramatic violins.
Chester French have deftly balanced the thrills of newness with the reliability of the old—not bad a for a couple of graduates.
Go to Vibe and drop a comment NOW!
3 Responses to “Check Out Vibe’s Incredible “Love the Future” Review”
The review is true.
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