Fool’s Gold Records has forged its reputation on an ability to connect distant corners of the hip-hop and dance worlds. The brainchild of A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs, the Brooklyn-based indie boasts a discography that gleefully places New York City house icon Todd Terry next to Danny Brown’s charismatically caterwauled rap theatrics, and successfully follows Kid Sister’s spunky hip-house revival moves with Kid Cudi’s lilting sing-song delivery. It’s a DJ-focused mentality that spotlights common ground between artists rather than segregating sounds. Catchdubs’ latest addition to the Fool’s Gold vault runs with a space-age theme that promises interplanetary genre-hopping kicks and nods to the usual mix of influences associated with his label. But beyond a smattering of standout cuts, there’s a frustrating feeling that half the passenger list didn’t make it on board before takeoff.
Early on, MC Nasty Nigel from New York City rap troupe World’s Fair blesses “Ecstasy Hot Line.” The pairing smartly captures the Fool’s Gold ethos: Though the group originally broke through with an update of indie rap icons Company Flow’s “8 Steps to Perfection,” World’s Fair’s last album featured a drum’n’bass-infused track (“Elvis’ Flowers”) that paid homage to DJ nights they hosted at now-shuttered venue Elvis Guesthouse. Catchdubs serves up nuanced production for Nigel, who floats over lush waves of woozy synths and casts himself as both “the third Chemical Brother” and “a baby from the ’90s—I still blame it all on Rudy, bro.” The production teases that it’s about to erupt at various points, but Catchdubs keeps the sonic backdrop low key, allowing Nigel’s voice and punchlines to provide the thrills.
“Pick Up Yaself” conveys similar synergy by virtue of an amped-up vocal hook by Metric Man from dancehall duo Fire Alarm. The song triggers energetic rave synths reminiscent of a ’90s Dreamscape party, but it’s always the arrival of the gruff vocal refrain that provides the intense highs. Elsewhere on UFO, outings featuring FATHERDUDE and former Rapture singer Mattie Safer, plus Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, provide an equally heady buzz. But navigating to these highlights involves traversing through a gamut of instrumental tracks that sap the album’s momentum, making for a stony journey.
There’s a hollowness about these instrumentals, which comprise the majority of the project, that makes them feel more like interludes or beat sketches than fully formed songs. They seem not so much stripped down as missing something; it’s a feeling magnified when sequenced after songs starring the compelling guest voices. Tellingly, when the rare use of a vocal sample kicks in on “UFO Style,” the spark returns. The phrase “I’m higher than a UFO” is cut up over production that’s an evocative mix of futuristic and eerie. It brings to mind ’80s electro workouts from the Knights of the Turntables and the Willesden Dodgers; the addition of vocals adds just the right amount of texture, giving the listener something to latch on to. But then it’s gone, and the album ambles back into more ambient drift with final tracks “Eyeball” and “Arp Flex.” UFO starts out promising bright cosmic thrills, but a fuller supporting crew might have helped to commandeer the vessel to more exciting outposts.
