Wax & EOM: Liquid Courage

If you’re like me and have a penchant for partaking in spirits, then undoubtedly you’ve become familiar with the phenomenon known as “liquid courage”. According to that bastion of colloquialism, urbandictionary.com, liquid courage is “a catalyst for bravery, particularly in a party or public setting and is best used in conjunction with moments involving violence or sexual acquisition.” Liquid Courage is also the appropriate title for the debut album of bi-coastal duo Wax & EOM. Wax is an L.A. cat with a rather large and devoted fan base and EOM (Elements of Music) is an East Coast producer who reached out to Wax after seeing his vicious lyricism on YouTube. Wax‘s diverse lyricism and EOM‘s equally diverse production come together to form an album that can probably be best described as “experimental.” Liquid Courage is a very solid debut, but the presence of plenty of minor blemishes prevents it from hitting that next level.

The album’s topics range from sex, alcohol, music, dysfunctional relationships, and all kinds of stuff in between. “The Adventures of Larry & Tina” paints a picture of a naïve 19-year-old stripper named Tina and an over-the-hill divorcee named Larry. The beat is equally dreamy and haunting as Wax tells the story of their relationship, from its beginning to its fiery, depressing end. The video (below) won the Enzian Theater Monthly FilmSlam Award in November, and this should be no surprise considering how much more it elevates the mood, theme, and content of the song.

Two of the big highlights from this album come with some monster beats from EOM. “Summer in the City” uses the sample from the Lovin’ Spoonful song of the same name and does it justice. Wax uses his storytelling skills once again, detailing an almost-robbery. But the granddaddy on this album is “Air Timpani.” EOM laces us with a choir sample from the 300 trailer backed by ridiculously hard hitting drums, cymbals, and ‘elements’ of music. Wax and guest D Pryde rip this song to shreds like Spartans going after the Immortal Army, with this beat as the backdrop.

Unfortunately, “Air Timpani” is also the site of a slip up on the album. The beat hits, gets the listener amped and then it stops after 19 seconds. Silence. Then a robot voice comes on telling us that the beat is fire. It kills the flow completely. The robot makes a few more appearances on the album, which gives the album a mixtape feel; not in a good way. In fact, it more or less contributes to the lack of preparation, organization, and polishing of the album, as it kills the flow of the songs themselves and the transitioning of tracks. “Tijuana,” whether on purpose or not, sounds terrible, and no, it’s not your volume settings. Fortunately, it fits in with the dirty, grainy feel that the city in Mexico perceives.

A similar subtle ‘glitch’ is found on the intro, “Liquid Courage”. The track starts in the middle of a sampled vocal, which is undoubtedly a mistake. The beginning of “Last Resort” begins with a weird opening with what seems to be the voice of Cleveland from Family Guy. I don’t see the connection. Two minor flaws, but subtle mistakes and slip-ups are what will stop Wax and EOM from hitting the next level of their potential as a duo, especially when making an album. Mistakes like this make LC seem amateur. The length is also a problem; it is simply too long. Listeners should hope that there is enough in the vault for a second LP.

Wax, while being a talented and descriptive storyteller and guitar player (that’s him on the acoustics), does have a tendency to be explicit… very explicit. Visit “Last Resort” or “Tongue Tied” for examples. However, he touches a wide variety of topics that would normally disrupt the flow and consistency of an entire album, but the beautiful and appropriate mix of back-to-back songs at points in the album contributes to the brilliance of Liquid Courage. More songs like the beautifully crafted “Music and Liquor,” which comprise the best of both worlds, heartfelt and honest rhymes from Wax and an emotionally provoking beat from EOM, would have made this album more thorough and serious. Regardless, Wax‘s humor and fiery battle rhymes will keep listeners tuned in just as much as the ‘serious’ ones do. Dope freshman effort. You might want to get a little liquid courage in you before listening, but it’s definitely not required.

Overall Score: 77/100

Standout Tracks:

“Air Timpani”

“Summer in the City”

“Music and Liquor”

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“Ridiculous”

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