Local Review: Desert Camo – Desert Camo

Desert Camo (Oliver the 2nd & Heather Grey)
Desert Camo
Old Soul Music
Street: 09.20
Desert Camo = (Westside Gunn + Flying Lotus) / Mach-Hommy

Before I delve in, I’d like to give a warm welcome to the main players of this project. Heather Grey has been releasing music since 2018, starting out with mainly solo pieces and adding a few features to an album. He later went on to collaborate with artists like Kota the Friend and lojii. He has an obvious natural inclination for music; he takes to it like a fish to water. Throughout his career, Grey has maintained his individualized vision while seamlessly melding with anyone he provides instrumentals for. 

Oliver the 2nd is the son of Phil Perry and a member of The Black Jungle Squad, a rap group comprised of like-minded emcees. A multifaceted artist with experience in production and vocals since 2013, he holds an all-encompassing understanding of the game—both of the music industry and the inner workings of how to create meaningful and thought-provoking art. Having worked with and Samiyam and The Alchemist, it’s apparent the rapper is well-vetted and qualified. 

So what happens when you bring together a notable instrumental specialist from Salt Lake City and a divinely conscious songsmith from Southern California? Monumental music—like, an entire album’s worth. Desert Camo is multilayered in every sense of the word. From the lyrics to the bones of the sound, the pair harmoniously work together to stimulate your mind and senses. There is a classic quality to the electronic beats being influenced by organic instruments, leaving the listener awestruck by the delicate intersection. The lyrics are raw and clever, storytelling of the personal and political circumstances of the modern person. 

The standout songs in terms of engaging lyricism are “Let’s Talk About It” and “Eyes and Ears.” The titles themselves are a testament to Oliver the 2nd’s distinctive love for wordplay; both songs had me hanging onto every last line and excitedly anticipating the next. In “Eyes and Ears” alone, the audience is gifted gems like, “A lot of it is lessons/A lot of it’s contextual we obviously threatening/The lobbyists connecting to JavaScript deception,” later followed by, “You bought a picture and they sold you a caption.” A major thematic element of this project is about the spread of misinformation and propaganda via the internet. With easily followed pipelines into extremist thought circles, social media uses data based on the user to push them content that might not be in their best interest to view. Oliver the 2nd brings this topic to the forefront of the album with skill and instinct. 

“Laws of the Land” featuring Quelle Chris and Sleep Sinatra smoothly lays out the main ethos like hands in the sand. Sonically memorable, the echoes of the notes and lyrics reverberate in your brain long after the song has ended. Like a can of sustenance for a wild wanderer, “Baked Beans” featuring Nolan the Ninja is packed with motifs and sound effects that satisfy the listener. Fairy-like chimes and spaghetti western riffs elevate the established vintage sound. Standing lone like the desolate street in front of a gas station at midnight, “Loitering” brings a sleepy-yet-anxiety-inducing feeling to the body. “Sun Lord Mixtape” exists in the middle of the masterpiece and is an enthralling narrative itself. A three-part sensation, there is a ghostly beginning, a waltz of a middle and a hypnotizing ending. Each part transitions into another with the audio of someone changing a cassette tape, a brilliant use of time and space to convey a story. The finale, my personal favorite that ends the ten-track epic is“High Brow.” The concept is triumphant, theatrical and angelic. The execution is brilliant, matching the notion of the name. It finishes out with a sample that utters, “In the desert, life is a fragile thing/Remarkable for existing at all.” 

Excellent rap native to Utah is as rare as water in the desert. It’s present, it just takes a little bit of searching. And I’ve discovered a mythic, overflowing reservoir in the middle of the Sahara. The prolific producer Heather Grey and the masterful lyricist Oliver the 2nd have come together to create Desert Camo–both the hip-hop duo and the debut album. Though the project is practically overheating to the touch, it’s far from dry. Filled to the brim with rhythm and blues, the self-titled project fuses an old-school palate with new-age production techniques. The outcome is a feat of underground hip-hop that will please even the most pretentious purists of the genre. The piece transports you to a grainy dune with a cow skull, a couple of tumbleweeds and a bright sky suspended above it. Or at least to a dark, damp speakeasy underneath all that. Catch a bit of the sun, it might just lead to enlightenment. –Marzia Thomas

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