PREVIOUSLY ON “MOONBASE: SVG”: Rapper Gage and deejay SV leave their Midwestern home of New Dredd Scotland and a post-apocalyptic Earth behind on their trusty spaceship Calliope, seeking a better life on the moon. Upon arrival, they set up a nightclub called “Moonbase SVG” within the underground society of Moon City. After running afoul of ruthless hoarders of moonjuice (a valuable beverage with beneficial and leisure purposes), our heroes flee Moon City in an attempt to return home. However, technical difficulties within Calliope during re-entry leaves SV severely injured. The story ends with SV beckoning Gage into an escape pod which is then jettisoned out of Calliope.
On their previous record “Moonbase: SVG”, St. Louis rapper Gage and Boston producer/Jim’s Pool Room Record co-founder SV presented a highly entertaining and thoughtful sci-fi concept album with wavy, synth-assisted instrumentation, witty, narrative-driven lyricism and an appropriately spacey vibe throughout. However, its aforementioned cliffhanger had me eagerly anticipating a continuation – or conclusion perhaps – to this intergalactic, planetary, planetary, intergalactic (Yes, I’m a Beastie Boys fan) adventure.
And with “The Ice Cap” (released on Earth Day, ‘cuz why not?), ‘adventure’ is the key word to this album’s narrative aesthetic. Though “Moonbase: SVG” had some occasional thrills and tension in its story (like the catchy-as-hell “Mutiny in Space” and its final track “It’s Never Over”), in retrospect, it’s more of a mood piece than a full-on adventure. Like “Ad Astra”, “Interstellar” and other similarly-themed sci-fi movies, “Moonbase” relied less on flashy spectacle and grand, action-packed set-pieces and focused more on characters seeking one thing and gaining something else, while learning about themselves and their place in the universe.
This album, however, serves as both a sequel to “Moonbase: SVG” and its own self-contained story. Think of it as a cinematic universe, where one film directly and indirectly connects to the other, like “Thor Ragnarok” and “Avengers: Infinity War” for example. Like many cinematic sequels and sophomore records before it, “The Ice Cap” is bigger in scope, relatively darker and takes its music and themes forward in distinct ways.
The story this time centers on Gage who crash-lands onto a frozen wasteland, populated by two rival human tribes, Ice and Fire. Guest rapper and Jim’s Pool Room labelmate Capo – who serves as both the album’s co-producer and tag-team partner to Gage over a majority of tracks – plays the Ice Tribe chieftain “Ice Cap”, a blind clairvoyant who foretold the eventual decimation of his tribe through the vision of “Fire in the Sky” (i.e. Calliope’s crash-landing). To prevent the realization of his vision, Ice Cap attempts to kill Gage, but holds back after noticing a New Dredd Scotland emblem on his sleeve.
Gage is imprisoned and tried by the Ice Tribe for trespassing. To avoid execution, he offers to help lead them to New Dredd Scotland (perceived as both a myth and utopia by the tribe). Ice Cap accepts his offer, and decides to tag along with Gage to find and repair his ship which is both the only means of escape from the wasteland and on the other side of the ACTUAL – and much-dreaded – ice cap area of said wasteland. However, during their journey to the crash site, both Ice Cap and Gage are struck with a vision of the Fire Tribe annihilating the Ice Tribe. Will our heroes get to the ship in time before their vision becomes a reality? Will Ice Cap remain or leave with Gage? Will Gage finally return home? And most importantly, is SV still alive?
Like its predecessor, “The Ice Cap” relies on verbal storytelling and characterization, and thankfully, they’re the album’s greatest strengths. It exhibits a much denser narrative than “Moonbase: SVG”, with its blend of epic, sword-and-sorcery-inspired adventure and survival film-inspired science fiction. That being said, you will have to give this album at least a couple of listens – even if you go into it after listening to “Moonbase” – to follow the general gist of the story.
Unlike its predecessor however, Gage isn’t the only one tasked to handle the narrative’s heavy lifting. Capo, who delivered a standout performance on the “Moonbase” cut “Moonjuice”, proves to be a formidable storyteller on top of being an efficient technical rapper. As the protagonist of “The Ice Cap”, Capo’s verbal contribution to the album brilliantly fleshes out Ice Cap as a character and his motivation as plausible and meaningful. The innate chemistry he has with Gage is the driving force behind this album, and here’s hoping this isn’t the last collaborative project between the two.
Also not tasked with heavy lifting is SV himself. He handles production on 9 of the album’s 16 tracks, adding a moody, downtempo musical atmosphere to the arctic cold backdrop presented on “The Ice Cap”. SV’s production provides emotional depth and texture to the project, like the fearful, forlorn vibes of “Ice Trap” and “Don’t Cross the Ice Cap”, the relaxed, serene sounds of “Polar Bear” (which creatively interpolates a famous Big Boi line from the classic song and album “ATLiens” on the hook) and the surprisingly pleasant “Ballad of Electric David” to the synth-heavy, retro video-game-inspired beats of “Heart of a Neanderthal” and “All my Friends” (two of the album’s standout tracks).
Capo also comes through with dope production, like the airy opening track “Fire in the Sky” which, from a lyrical standpoint, sounds exactly like the type of song you’d expect a post-apocalyptic tribe to sing while huddled around a large campfire, the hazy, head-nodding, chillhop songs “You’re a Star” (featuring guest rapper Alleyes Manifest) and “Fjier Water” (featuring guest rapper Karl Livingston and singer Ivy Rush) and the emotional album closer “Take Care” (featuring singer Antonia Marquee).
Speaking of guests, “The Ice Cap” has a relatively longer list of collaborators compared to its predecessor. Producer Troglodyte The Neanderthal’s breezy, psychedelic instrumental for “Psyfin the Peddler” and dark, trap-flavoured beat for “The Showdown” (an actual action sequence in the story, and easily one of the best songs on the album) add an extra layer of variety to the production throughout this project. Singers like Ivy Rush and Antonia Marquee deliver some beautifully-executed hooks, the latter of whom I suspect is reprising her role as Gage’s despondent girlfriend from the last album.
Some guests even play characters in the story, like the aforementioned Alleyes Manifest who plays an eccentric mystic (I couldn’t help but get Quelle Chris vibes from his esoteric, stream-of-consciousness bars – which is actually a compliment), Karl Livingston whose upbeat delivery added a nice bit of characterization to his Ice Tribe warrior character, Psy the Peddler who plays….well…..Psyfin the Peddler, a crafty, smooth-talking ‘salesman’ and Electric David (As a Nas fan, I quite enjoyed that ‘half tin can and half-amazing’ line, by the way), whose talk box-esque vocal performance as an abandoned robot with mystical, ‘Earth-moving’ powers (like I wrote earlier…. sword AND SORCERY) made for a truly moving (emotionally, that is) moment on the record. Finally in terms of guests, the Dodson Girls add an effectively adorable element to the album with their interludes which, given their very young age, clearly suggests this story of “The Ice Cap” is one that’s been passed down from generation to generation.
As an emcee and story character, Gage is just as charismatic, likeable and relatable as he was on “Moonbase: SVG”. Obviously, he’s burdened by the ‘possible’ death of his friend SV (which he brings up on “All my Friends”), but I truly appreciate how determined he is to see the mission through without letting his emotions get the better of him. There’s also a great bit of backstory involving Gage and SV, and how they met during the brutal Climate Wars, where the Fire Tribe (formerly known as the Fire Army) was on the verge of defeat.
Speaking of the Fire Tribe, my main issue with the album was the lack of personality given to the antagonists. Yes, I understand they’re vicious and they want to destroy the Ice Tribe, but I felt the story could’ve provided a logical reason as to who they are and what motivates them. I’m not saying we should’ve gotten a “Be Prepared” or some other Disney villain-like song in the tracklist, but I felt there should’ve been a moment where one of the characters – maybe Ice Cap – details the rivalry between the two tribes.
Main issue aside, I really enjoyed this album! As a sequel to “Moonbase: SVG”, it went into a narrative direction I DID NOT see coming, and it expanded the world established in that previous album in such a unique and extraordinary way, I was left eager and excited to see where the paths of Ice Cap and Gage take them. Both Capo and Gage deliver impressive performances from start to end, supplemented with consistent production, solid guest features and a well-crafted story. Fans of the first album will thoroughly enjoy this one, and newbies to the “Adventures of Gage across the 8th Dimension” are strongly recommended to check out “Moonbase: SVG” first. As for those looking for smart storytelling, sci-fi and a dash of fantasy in their concept albums, “The Ice Cap” is definitely worth a listen!
OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10
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