Vibe.com, April 14th, 2005
The track listing for the third album by Prefuse 73 (aka Scott Herren) features an all-star cast of hip hop's finest, including GZA, Masta Killa and Aesop Rock, though the MCs are given little room to shine, hidden behind heavily layered choppy beats and experimental instrumentals. Ghostface and El-P's rhymes in "Hide Ya Face" peek out from behind a single, dominating note that sounds like a subway car reminding passengers to watch the closing doors.
Whether Prefuse moves aside on his own or the featured MCs' vocals are strong enough to claw out from behind the repetitive beats and synths, collaborative tracks with Aesop Rock ("Sabbatical with Options") and Masta Killa and GZA ("Just the Thought") shine as two of the album's gems. On "Sabbatical With Options," in fact, Prefuse actually works with, instead of against, Aesop's vocals, adding beats that follow the MC's tempo.
Prefuse makes strides to show his ability to apply the same formula to tracks with both hip hop and indie artists. "Pagina Dos," which features The Books employs refreshingly thick beats, snaps and banjo-esque twang could be one of Surrounded by Silence's best tracks, if it wasn't so short. "Matra Two," however, the track that features Blonde Redhead's Kazu is almost catastrophic with the singer's repetitive, earsplitting vocal.
While Prefuse 73 is clearly making a strong effort to put together an inventive and wholly unique disc, Surrounded by Silence actually suffers from its cavalcade of stars. The artist seems to have handed over a list of collaborations, hoping the listener would be too distracted to notice the lack of innovation in the beats and instrumentals.
