ALBUM SCAN: Corkscrew Gaps EP

Panacea
Corkscrew Gaps EP (2009)
Album Scan
By Josh B.

First off, Panacea is a hip-hop tandem hailing from Washington DC.  They are comprised of soundscape technician K-Murdock, and amazing emcee Raw Poetic.  They have already released 4 full albums and are getting ready to release their 5^th album 12 Step Program.  Their 2^nd and 3^rd albums were released through the famous indy label Rawkus Records. 


The Corkscrew gaps EP is available for free on Panacea’s bandcamp page.

It is comprised of songs that did not make their already released albums.  LET'S BE CLEAR THOUGH these are not subpar tracks.  They are putting it out to hold fans over until they can put out their new album. 

If you are not familiar with the group this EP is a perfect introduction to them.  It lays out their signature style right from the get go.  The thing about Panacea is that they have a completely unique sound.  Which is really what hip-hop is all about.  I know what you hear most days on hip hop radio would lead you to believe otherwise but hip-hop is really about being sonically different and true to yourself and K-Murdock and Raw Poetic deliver the goods every damn time.  They have a mellow ethereal kind of sound.   Soundscapes if you will.  I liken the music to a soundtrack for a film which you can definitely hear on the first track “Coin Toss” The end of that track makes use of a sample of dialogue from “No Country For Old Men” further enhancing their cinematic sound.   They describe their sound as a combination of Final Fantasy meets A Tribe Called Quest and I really can’t say it any better.  Don’t be fooled by the chill descriptions though they are still a hip-hop group so you can def hear classic boom bap drums on some tracks or Raw Poetic Switching up his flow half way through a song.  I also have to mention their DJ Damu the Fudgemonk.  He is the mortar that holds the beats and rhymes together using his wheels of steel.

The biggest difference in the sound of this EP and their albums proper is that I noticed that they utilized more female vocals than before which actually works out very well on these chill tracks.  They just keep on adding more tools to their kit.  If there is one downside to this EP it is that ever since Panacea demonstrated their skill at making concept albums that flow together it kind of makes you wish that the songs on this EP all flowed together as well.  Not to worry though because K-Murdock said it himself on his blog that their upcoming album “12 Step Program” is going to be a return to their concept album style that they started with “The Scenic Route.”