Beak & Claw

s/s/s is the three-way collaboration of baroque-folk bard Sufjan Stevens, razor-witted Anticon rapper Serengeti, and New York City composer Son Lux. The idea for the motley partnership stems back to 2009, when Stevens met Serengeti. They enlisted Lux’s help, and nearly three years later Beak & Claw was born. The EP opens with the six-minute “Museum Day.” Over spare piano notes, Stevens sings through Auto-Tune without a hint of irony. Out of nowhere, Serengeti’s lackadaisical rhyming coasts in on a bed of beats as he raps about celebrity decadence in a fantasy setting. But it’s really Lux’s glitchy orchestration, hard-panned cymbals, and backing vocal arrangements that bring this song to life. “Beyond Any Doubt” follows, with darker tones and themes as mechanized beats move over haunting keyboard trills. It sets the tone for Serengeti’s musing on the tug-of-war between dream pursuits and financial hardship. My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden gives '40s-inspired vocals to “If This Is Real,” resulting in an Art of Noise feel. The album wraps with “Octomom,” an avant-disco jam.