Tim Stiles, contributor

This is not a breath of fresh air.

It is not a new bar-setting record nor an attempt to cross genres for the sake of, "cause no one’s tried it before."

This is hip-hop.

This is an artist being honest, earnest, and truthful.

This is Station.

Eric Goodman, a.k.a., Station carries fifteen years under his belt in the punk rock/hard core genre, most notably, as the guitarist/vocalist for Sacramento band Fuck the Forest. The last 3 years have been spent producing beats. Two years and nine albums later, here we are, high-fiving our “Best Friend Ever.”

This twenty track instrumental album, with each song averaging around two minutes, never ceases to steal your focus (from driving, for example). It’s kind of like that party in your head that goes on in the coffee shop line; the anticipation and excitement of what’s coming next. Sure there are consistencies and similarities from track-to-track, the most obvious being the extensive use of 1970 era rhythmic, electric guitar, stuttering 16th note Rhodes attacks, 1950's horn section back lines, and time-compressed female vocal drones. Making it a rule to use only samples from 1958-1982, Station is anything but lazy here. His minimalist, barely effected, dusty drum programming is a compliment, as opposed to a vehicle for the instrumentation laid on top. Station is not lazily cutting and pasting a couple of measures over breaks. You can tell he takes his time to make sure every piece of percussion is evenly matched to precise sample cuts and poignant bass lines using his "crappy Costco keyboard." The only other instrument you’ll hear is his Moog.

In a nutshell, Station is paying attention. He’s put out nine albums in the last two years and has no sign of stopping. I plan to stay tuned.

In his own words:

"I have no aspirations per-say...I just really feel at peace when I am creating music and it is rad that people like it. I put my heart into it, I don’t just put samples together. I just want to keep putting out shit. If some rappers that I really like want to get down on some of my shit that would be extra cool...nevertheless I will be here making these lil’ songs."

Oh, did I forget to mention this album is a FREE download from Station's Bandcamp page? Dial it in, you won't be disappointed.

http://stationmusic.bandcamp.com/