The Rubber Room
Cary Brothers / Avant featuring Lil' Wayne



The Rubber Room column is a weekly look at recent and notable releases that don’t fall into the rubric of traditional reviews or reviewed material—namely 7”’s, 12”’s, 3” CDs, EPs, cassette-only, DVDs and MP3-only releases.

Cary Brothers
Waiting for Your Letter EP
[Procrastination Music, 2005]


While Cary Brothers fits on pop-rock playlists, he comes across as more of a singer-songwriter than anything else. His music's serviceable, and he sings to draw you in—pay attention to your headphones and all that. The problem with the Waiting for Your Letter EP, then, is that it's poorly mixed. With the vocals way down, you have to be more than just attentive: you have to strain to discern the words. As it stands, the most rewarding track is "Wasted One," a hopeful number that fits somewhere on a line of descent that includes Pablo Honey but eliminates grunge. The disc has no duds, but its rewards don't pay off enough. Maybe this disc will serve as a lesson for future recordings.
[Justin Cober-Lake]

Avant featuring Lil' Wayne
You Know What [CD-Single]
[Geffen, 2005]


If you say to someone, "If you let me go down, I'm gonna taste," you don't need to use the phrase "you know what" as a euphemism for vaginal intercourse. Unless we're supposed to assume that there's some kind of act between these lovers that the singer can only hint at. Given the lack of creativity on Jermaine Dupri's production and Avant's dry delivery, I'm guessing not; the "you know what" could only be "think of England" sex in the missionary position. Lil' Wayne's appearance converts this song from middle-of-the-night indulgence to slept-through-it number. The bright spot, the slant rhyme of "navel" and "end table" is worth at least a mild quiver.
[Justin Cober-Lake]


By: Stylus Staff
Published on: 2005-10-27
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