Though it took nearly a decade for the “record buying” public to acknowledge their obvious talents, the inevitable finally happened in 1999 as The Roots took a major step out of the underground with Things Fall Apart and the Grammy award winning single the LP spawned “You Got Me” featuring Erykah Badu.

If we have come to expect anything from The Roots over the course of their discography, it’s to expect their own rendition of Masterpiece Theater every 24-months, as with each respective release the crew continues to prove they are one of the most consistent entities that hip-hop has known.  Yet, we have also come to rely on the crew for the healthy alternative that their live instrumentation offers—after all, who else could have made Jay-Z’s Unplugged performance sound so nice?

With sonic mastermind, ?uestlove, in the fold, it should really come as no surprise that the Roots start to experiment with their sound on Phrenology.  After all, anyone who goes from executive producing efforts from D’Angelo, to Common, to makeshift Jazz outfit Philadelphia Experiment can’t be expected to stay grounded in one genre for very long.  Well, if Quest was looking for a challenge, he found one with Phrenology; as it is not only a departure for his band, but for the legion of Roots fans across the world (many of whom will be disappointed with this effort).  While the neo-soul vibe session continues on the melodic “Complexity” feat. Jill Scott  and “Rolling With Heat” feat. Talib Kweli; both are perfect examples of tracks that could have been present on any previous Roots endeavor.  Phrenology is both a subtle (“Sacrifice” feat. Nelly Furtado) and direct (“The Seed (2.0)”) shift in ideologies.  And if you did not know any better, you would swear that the Roots are to some extent attempting to blow things up and start from scratch as they delve into the realm of electronica (“Water”), rock (“The Seed V.2.0″), soul and yes, even punk (“!!!!”). 

Besides the obvious changes in direction, Phrenology is also a harder album with an aggressive edge to it.  The frenzied rush of “Rock You” and the homage to Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo, “Thought @ Work”, finds the eternally underrated Black Thought dropping a hailstone of rhymes so electric that they practically jump out of the speakers.  Yet, Phrenology’s break-out track is  “The Seed V2.0″ feat. Cody Chestnutt.  Full of the same redeeming garage band qualities that made Neptunes’ N.E.R.D. reincarnation so dope, “The Seed V2.0.,” is so stripped and oft-kilter that it sounds unrehearsed (check the opening 10 seconds of feedback still bellowing from the guitars) and it just maybe the most honest record the Roots have ever released.  This impromptu nature even helps the rugged, Karieem Riggins produced “Quills”, as it works when it probably shouldn’t—you explain intertwining the hook from “Breakout” with dark keyboard stabs and shakers?

While aggressive in tone, Phrenology does not lack in attitude either.  “Pussy Galore” tackles the “sex sells” mentality that is pushed on every major medium in the world and the incredible “Water” not only details Malik B’s substance abuse problems, but serves as a spiraling 10-minute intervention that will either bring the group closer together or completely end their relationship with Malik altogether; “you better be a true friend to him, before the shit put an end to him, or give a pen to him, or lock him in the studio with a mic, cause on the real it might save his life”—-no matter how close you are to an individual, no one likes their laundry aired out like that.

The only safe moves on Phrenology are the plodding “Sacrifice” which features an under-utilized Nelly Furtado (peep Jurassic 5′s “Thin Line”) and the soulful lead-single, “Break You Off” feat. Musiq – but even that clocks in at an expansive seven-minutes and when’s the last time you heard a group release a lead-single that spawns a full seven-minutes?).

On “Water” Black Thought proclaims, “they say a record aint nothing if it’s not touching / gripping / draw you in closer / make you want to listen to it / and if you real ill at making music / the listener feel like he living thru it / that’s how me and my ni**as do it.” Though it does take a few listens to uncover it, if you give it a chance there’s no denying Phrenology is one of those records.