Lyric Jones has been slow cooking since the early 2000s. Quakers, B. Slade, and Planet Asia account for a small fraction of the projects, producers, and MCs whose tracks have been furnished with her verses and hooks, and she has independently built her own sizable discography. While Closer Than They Appear is even more compact than the earlier EP-length releases from the L.A.-based artist, it packs the wallop of a set twice its length and is at once a natural continuation and a creative leap. Ending with an anxious and tipsy slow jam produced by Nameless -- Lyric's co-billed associate on the preceding Ga$ Money -- it also features mentor and collaborator Rah Digga in the role of hype woman. More strikingly, it sees Lyric welcomed into the Little Brother/Foreign Exchange axis. Phonte (who's in both those groups) has been an inspiration for Lyric since she was in high school, and a fan of her work; for Closer, the mutual admirers don't so much connect as cohere. Serving as writing partner, arranger, background vocalist, and mixing engineer, Phonte also ties together productions that incorporate sparkling psych-soul from Carrtoons, effervescent bossa nova from Phil Beaudreau, Kaytranada-like boogie from H0wdy, and variably uplifting and heady boom-bap courtesy of Nottz, Focus..., and Blaaq Gold. What's more, he gets several FE affiliates to sweeten the beats with voices, strings, and keys, and on the feel-good "Cruisin'" exchanges complementary verses with LB colleague Big Pooh and the headliner. Lyric is smooth, sharp, and precise regardless of what she's fronting. On "Face to Face," she raps the blues with resolve, wondering "Which one should I be fearin' most: a virus or a system?" before reflecting that she's nevertheless invigorated and in her prime. Her high hip-hop IQ is most obvious in the contagiously confident "Rock On," in which "I'm Lyte as a rock, this audio too detailed" maximizes her score with multiple and related references. Knowledge is more casually dropped as she spars suggestively with dirty-talking Vic Mensa (speaking of intellect) on "Show You How," a rendezvous that neatly transitions into "Angelina," a vulnerable romantic narrative where Lyric supplements her verses with a finely twirled chorus and outro. While this represents a fantasy fulfilled, Lyric is still looking ahead, never caught up in the moment, even when she's flanked by Little Brother. "Countdown to when my art is renown" seems like a levelheaded declaration.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo