Sound: A decided departure from RJD2’s cut-and-paste hip hop productions. There are actually no samples whatsoever on The Third Hand and RJD2 wrote, produced and performed everything on the album. He’s changed labels (from Definitive Jux to XL) to allow him to make electronic synth pop with a strong rhythmic component that incorporates indie hip hop beats, digital funk/soul grooves and some quirky indie rock bounce. His timid and airy crooning meet up with icy, lab-constructed layers of harmony to create more traditional, verse-chorus songs. However, RJD2 takes a few instrumental breaks, as well.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “You Never Had It So Good”; “Sweet Piece”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Beyond the Beyond”; “Have Mercy”; “Just When”
Recommended: If you like Kenna’s New Sacred Cow and Honeycut’s The Day I Turned To Glass (my #16 album of 2006), two vintage-influenced but ahead-of-their-time albums. The Third Hand isn’t as consistently strong as those fearless and relatively unrecognized triumphs of studio production, but it joins them on the same hard-to-categorize, forward-thinking island.
Grade: B

Listen to Samples/Buy Music:
On iTunes
On barnesandnoble.com