Polyrhythm Addicts: Break Glass

Indie-rap super-group Polyrhythm Addicts burned brightly but briefly on the strength of a well-received 1999 EP, Rhyme Related, only to disband shortly afterward. Now the group has risen from the ashes with Break Glass…, so it's fitting that Polyrhythm Addicts mainstays Mr. Complex, Shabaam Sahdeeq, and producer DJ Spinna are joined by a new female member calling herself Tiye Phoenix. Phoenix isn't as distinctive a rapper as Apani B. Fly, the Polyrhythm Addict she replaced, but she lends an agreeably Li'l Kim-like swagger to the proceedings.

Perhaps with visions of Lauryn Hill-style sales swimming in their minds, the fellas pushed Phoenix to the fore, but the group's biggest asset is Spinna, a veteran beatsmith whose production on Break Glass… is less dance-influenced than his early work, but whose savvy crate-digging creates melodic delight throughout. Strong guest rappers like Phonte, Planet Asia, and Pharoahe Monch add to the already-high level of vocal diversity, while Spinna dips deep into his bag of tricks for neat sonic flourishes like the infectious psychedelic vocal sample that plays throughout the verses on "Kerosene." Polyrhythm Addicts aren't Fugees, and Break Glass… isn't The Score, but it's as a hell of a lot stronger than anything Pras or Wyclef has put out as of late.