Easily the most high-concept of the Anticon collectivists, Oakland’s surrealist hip-hop outfit Subtle returned to Sneaky Dee’s to deliver selections from ExitingARM, the third album-chapter in their the meta-/hyper-/quasi-fictional story of a rap artist forced to make pop music in a parallel dimension for overlord figures and… (Ahh hell, there’s no way I can explain this succinctly. Just read this interview with singer/lyricist/conceptual artist Adam “Doseone” Drucker for the details and it might begin to make sense).
Armed with a black-and-white striped background, matching white outfits, cello, electronics, bassoon, ample props (even diagrams), a skull/bust altar and, yes, three albums (give or take a handful of EPs) worth of songs relating to a character called “Our Hero Yes,” it’s clear that, even on a small stage like Sneaky Dee’s, this is a band that exudes pretension.
But Subtle is also the kind of band that grabs the baton of pretension and runs it well past the point of exhaustion to a level of commitment where even the haters have to be impressed with how much effort goes into the production. The only thing worth questioning (other than what it all means) is how in the hell Doseone manages to rapid-fire so many syllables, all bound up in modifiers and prefixes, in his distinctive Al Green-rap battle delivery and still find the quick wit for some of the most entertaining stage banter ever. Seriously, we're talking about getting the crowd to spell out “Sleater Kinney” for no apparent reason and reminiscing about adolescent experimentation with a Popple (eat that, Paul Stanley).
Opening with the title track “ExitingARM,” Doseone’s reserved performance from behind a deck of samplers and effects boards made for the only uninspired moment of the set. But as quickly as they transitioned into “The No” and “Day Dangerous,” the head-reflector-sporting singer stepped up to centre stage all sweaty presence and intense gazes. Witnessing Doseone’s inhuman verbal agility firsthand is fairly mind-blowing, especially on the newer material where it’s balanced with more proper singing sections. Still, he’s not above adding to the effect with a bit of Hamlet-styled posturing, firing off lines from A New White’s sardonic classic “I heart LA” to a hand-held skull.
Musically, the pairing of Jordan Dalrymple’s drumkit and Jeffery Logan’s live drum triggers grinds and slams with the precision of a hip-hop car crusher. And though it’s hard to keep track of what everyone else is playing at any given time, the layers of synths, horns, treated cello and processed vocals is always surprisingly audible even in an unpredictable locale like the Sneak. During full-on sonic assaults like “Unlikely Rock Shock” and the final encore of For Hero: For Fool’s “hit” single “The Mercury Craze,” Subtle prove that you can be smart, weird, funny, intense and pretentious and still wrap it up in a catchy pop nugget. Now if they could only issue a Cole’s Notes for the lyrics…