By the time the self-titled debut album by
Nevermen (the supergroup trio of Anticon-affiliated MC
Doseone,
TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, and
Faith No More's
Mike Patton) finally appeared in early 2016, the project had been in development for the better part of a decade.
Doseone guested on
Patton's
Peeping Tom project in 2006, and Adebimpe appeared on an album by
Doseone's group
Subtle in 2007, and the three had long been fans of each other's work.
Doseone had mentioned that a collaboration was in the works as early as 2008, and the project was named and signed to
Subtle's label Lex Records in 2009. However, the trio were in no rush to work on material, especially with high-profile commitments such as
Faith No More's reunion and
TV on the Radio's blossoming popularity, so fans had to wait until 2015 to hear the first fruits of their labor. Musically, it's in line with any number of
Doseone's other collaborative projects, fluidly blending abstract hip-hop, indie rock, and atmospheric electronic elements, but with a bit more of a radio-friendly guitar crunch than on the rapper's usual ventures. The trio stress that there is no leader to
Nevermen, and they all contribute equally, intertwining their vocals and finishing each other's thoughts, but it's hard to really mistake
Patton's roaring of voice. The album generally has an aggressive, adrenaline rush of energy to it, but they break from that during "Hate On," which builds with a slow, quiet beginning, gradually revealing the trio's vocal harmonies and eventually gaining a softly clipping beat before hitting the guitar pedals near the song's finish. "Tough Towns," which salutes cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland, similarly lapses into ambient space for an extended time period, and closing track "Fame II: The Wreckoning" is nearly still for five minutes before its splashing, hopeful finale. Other than these more reflective moments, the album is generally pretty exhilarating, particularly on vicious avant-rap tracks like "At Your Service." ~ Paul Simpson