The Quilt [PA]

Performer: Gym Class Heroes
Artist: Estelle; Busta Rhymes; The-Dream; Daryl Hall
Producer: C. "Tricky" Stewart; The-Dream; Cool & Dre; Patrick Stump
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Gym Class Heroes: Travis "Schleprok" McCoy (vocals); Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo (guitar); Eric Roberts (bass guitar); Matt McGinley (drums). The follow-up to Gym Class Heroes' breakthrough album, AS CRUEL AS SCHOOL CHILDREN, 2008's THE QUILT furthers the upstate New York ensemble's rap-rock sound. Not surprisingly, Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, a frequent band associate, has his hand in the proceedings, producing half of the album, while hip-hop gurus Cool & Dre helm many of the other tracks. Highlights of the energetic outing include the playful "Cookie Jar" (featuring The-Dream) and the romantic "Live Forever (Fly With Me)," which makes great use of guest Daryl Hall's falsetto vocals. The Quilt is as good a name as any for Gym Class Heroes' post-hip-hop pop collage, as they weave together discarded strands of junk culture into something new yet naggingly familiar. More than most of their peers, they embody all the glorious and maddening contradictions of their generation. Raised in the heyday of hip-hop while steeped in the irony of '90s alt-rock, persistent nostalgia for '70s kitsch, and '80s new wave, Gym Class Heroes see no borders between any era or style, mixing and matching the parts to create funky Frankensteins that feel as pop as they do rap. On The Quilt, Travis McCoy and crew attempt to amp up the urban and hip-hop just a bit, working with Cool & Dre -- producers with the Game and Lil Wayne to their credit -- and having Rihanna associate the Dream in for the single "Cookie Jar," but they do all this without abandoning longtime running-partner Fall Out Boy Patrick Stump, or their love of syrupy soft rock hooks, a love that manifests in a duet with Daryl Hall, and choruses that feel borrowed from Ben Folds, or maybe Jack's Mannequin. All this stylistic hopscotch winds up unwittingly emphasizing just how much Gym Class Heroes are indebted to OutKast's -- or perhaps more specifically Andr� 3000 -- genre-bending, as the best moments here float on the same kind of giddy, infectious choruses that fueled "Roses." That Gym Class Heroes get a little lax on their verses points out that they're better in broad strokes than details, just like how they deliver clever concepts that call out for a bit more wit than McCoy manages to muster. And that's also how Gym Class Heroes' Quilt is very, very much of its time: it skates by on the surface, which is appealing for a while, but in large doses it can seem like too much empty style. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Entertainment Weekly (p.135) - "[I]t's polished, radio-friendly pop. Longtime collaborator Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy produced half of the disc's 14 songs, anchoring it with guitar-driven tracks that cater to GCH's core fans." Alternative Press (p.162) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "Every song has an insistent hook, but despite the high-profile hip-hop guests, nothing feels calculated." Blender (Magazine) (p.79) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Gym Class Heroes can approximate the ecstatic pop of the Jackson 5 as naturally as if they were dancing to 'ABC,' and they skillfully pilfer reggae and pop punk, too."

The roots of genre-bending funk-rap band Gym Class Heroes stem from an actual ninth grade phys-ed class in Geneva, New York, where lead singer/MC Travis McCoy met drummer Matt McGinley in 1997. Just shy of a decade later, and two members stronger, the outfit began delivering cheeky observations about the pitfalls of life and love in the age of friend requests and ringtones. They quickly scored a record deal with indie stalwart Fueled By Ramen, and gained the adoration of a legion of internet fans who helped propel the Supertramp-sampling "Cupid's Chokehold" into top tens around the world.

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