Lemonworm - Treefister

Lemonworm

​Treefister
self-released; 2016

3.4 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Lemonworm is an experimental artist from Palo Alto, California, who recently released Treefister. The young man who is just around the legal age doesn’t have the most aggressive or intimidating style. In fact there is a silly kind of nerdy vibe to the way he rhymes. Suffice it to say he is worlds away from sounding like Killer Mike.

Experimentation can have rewarding consequences or dismal results. Sometimes it’s really hard to judge hence the name. As a listener I thought there was some inventive ideas once in awhile and also some moments that fall a bit flat.

​The album starts with “Baleen Star.” Jarring slices of white noise come at you while a distant drumbeat manages to create somewhat of a groove. If there is any inherent meaning in the lyrics then it went over my head. The words aren’t as poetic as much as they feel absurd and silly. He raps, “got birds got wizards got pokemon / through the same moves show ineptitude / your blade stabs me fills up the glue / blue boy lush boy no differencing / mirrors smash when I'm home creating.”

All in all he has some success but not as much as he has on “Why Remote ft. DGA.“ There is some more low-end on this track and the ominous synths felt fitting. I suggest he works with DGA because in all honesty DGA steals the show. That more aggressive, intense style that Lemonworm doesn’t posses is present in DGA.

Squiggly synths and dissonance make up a lot of “Fungus.” This is one of Lemonworm’s better performances. He sometimes sort of talks and switches it up to straight up rapping at times. “Twilight Hack v1.0-dirty” barely has a beat. It’s a sparse song mostly built on atmosphere. It works well and further demonstrates his out of the box thinking. He closes with perhaps the most experimental track entitled “Post That to Lush.”

At the end of the day Lemonworm started to grow on me. Not everything works here but you have to respect someone who is willing to take chances. Being so young Lemonworm has plenty of time to sharpen his skills. I’m inclined to think his best work lies ahead.

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