Coming off of Battle Axe is Chase Phoenix’s first offering “Cut to the Chase.” While Battle Axe houses Swollen Members and others, Chase hopes that his release will be another notch on the blossoming Battle Axe belt, with a career that will last longer than the average underground artist. And with this attempt he is fortunate enough to not have to dive into this pool of emcees alone, backed by a few high profile guests.

    Chase’s offering comes off very mild mannered in both approach and style. While his style doesn’t snatch ears off the bat it does make do. As with many artists when the art form is linear subject matter (“In Crowd” and the woeful Jemini The Gifted One assisted “Feel So..”) he has a hard time standing out.  But when he digs a little deeper into his book of concepts, he manages to forge a few interesting songs. “A Thousand Apologies” displays Chase non-apologetic stance on being a human being in a world that is so judgemental. He shouts out a few troubled stars and makes the point of how human our so-called stars and role models really are.

     However, from a production standpoint the LP is lopsided. Half of the album is produced by Dub-L, whose production, at times, comes off uninspiring. Joints like the aforementioned “Feel so…” are inexplicably dry. “Thought Wrong” plods in a dreary manner begging the listener to press the skip button. What doesn’t help matters is the fact that these are the tracks where Chase’s performance is just as uninspiring as the beats.

     Yet the other half, which just so happens to be one of the selling points off the LP, is the fact that it contains 8 tracks produced by Aesop Rock collaborator Blockhead. Of those eight, one stands out head and shoulders above the rest. “Twenty Something” melts into eardrums with its mix of hypnotic guitar plucks and piano riffs. As Chase makes this his moment to shine as he puts the mid twenties crisis into perspective. He weaves words when the reality sets in that one is no longer a kid anymore and has to get off
his ass and do something with his life. It’s at this moment that Chase shows much promise as an emcee when he delivers this introspective moment. Also when Aesop Rock falls through with his distinctive style alongside Chase on “Secret Agents”, the fireworks fly, as Blockhead’s meaty production provides the perfect backdrop for the two emcees. The only problem is that Aesop completely outshines his fellow agent with his poetics. Beside this fact, Blockhead’s production does nothing to raise his stock as blahzay blah moments like “In Crowd” and the sleepy feel of “Patience” come off as unresponsive. But it could be due to the fact that many are used to hearing the likes of Aesop Rock over Blockhead production, and not the average sound of Chase Phoenix.

      Cut to the Chase is one of those albums that doesn’t quite live up to its expectations, even if it’s only a producer ends up causing those expectations. Chase does illustrate that he does have potential, but doesn’t manage to hold the listeners attention long enough to show it. Mired by inconsistent production and rhymes, Cut to the Chase may end up collecting a lot dust on store racks and CD shelves. Fortunately there are moments within the album that do raise eyebrows and may compel many to drop a few dollars to catch those glimpses. But in the end, sadly it just finds its way along the lines of mediocrity that many albums tread.