Everywhere at Once

As a founding member of California’s Quannum Projects (previously known as Solesides), Tom Shimura has already established his indie-rap bona fides. Yet, with his distinctive nasal rasp, slippery flow, and irresistible dance rhythms, he’s always presented a pop-friendly veneer, especially for such an underground champion. Everywhere at Once, his debut for Anti, the stalwart indie label, could have been his career-defining masterwork, the album that exceeded and built on his considerable achievements. Instead, it’s simply another tight and tempting Lyrics Born project, filled to the gills with electro funk, disco, and contemporary soul grooves. Pulsing tracks like “Hott 2 Deff” (with Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na) and “Don’t Change” (boasting a punchy three-piece horn section) will no doubt get bodies moving, but things get even better when he moves out of his comfort zone on tracks like the grinding “I’m a Phreak,” the New Wave, Devo-inspired “Do U Buy It?” and the fantastically dynamic “I Can’t Decide,” all of which seem to owe a nod to Cee-lo Green and Gnarls Barkley. More comfortable than ever in the studio, Shimura’s production pops and sparkles, thanks to his strategic use of live musicians.