Open Mike Eagle / White,Paul Hella Personal Film Festival CD

Known for his solo alchemy and collaborations with Danny Brown, Homeboy Sandman and Mos Def, White conjures a psychedelic strain of soul-funk, booming drums, and 21st century crate-digging in tropical attics of the imagination. Recorded in London, Eagle's new album continues where his 2014 masterpiece, Dark Comedy left off. It's anxiety-riddled but whimsical, addicted to and scornful of social media, stuffed with old wrestling in-jokes and film snippets. Self-aware admissions blend into attacks on societal double standards. These are tense anthems for the vulnerable, consecrations to black people with rich internal lives, agnostic prayers for those grappling with pain. They're emotional landmines leavened by the wry bleakness usually only found in great stand-up comedians. Eagle exists in the lineage of They Might Be Giants and Richard Pryor, Freestyle Fellowship and his longtime friend and collaborator, Hannibal Burress.

1. Admitting the Endorphin Addiction 2. I Went Outside Today (Feat Aesop Rock) 3. Dang Is Invincible 4. Check to Cheek 5. The Curse of Hypervigilance (In Politics, Romance ; Cohabitation) 6. Insecurity 7. Smiling (Quirky Race Doc) 8. Leave People Alone 9. A Short About a Guy That Dies Every Night 10. Protectors of the Heat (Feat Hemlock Ernst of Future Islands 11. Insecurity Pt. II (The Moor That Merry Her) 12. Dive Bar Support Group 13. Drunk Dreaming 14. Reprieve