Gym Class Heroes mature to high-class kings on The Quilt

The new album is musically all over the place.

By Katie Currid

Published Sept. 11, 2008

A quilt is material sewn together, a compilation of different fabrics and patches intertwined with crisscrossed, nonsensical stitching. A quilt can keep you warm at night, or it can comfort you with the love woven in with each thread. Quilts can also remind you of old times, good and bad, represented by the different patches laced together within the patchwork.

In a way, that's just what The Quilt by Gym Class Heroes is: an accumulation of sounds, all consolidated into one work of art. The songs on The Quilt represent old memories, past relationships and current affairs, with topics including oppression, politics and relationships. The album's diversity is further showcased as different instruments and vocals are brought into the mix: drum beats, trumpet melodies, piano notes, guitar riffs and a blend of female and male vocals of the rap and rock persuasion.

As a finished product, The Quilt can satisfy any musical taste. Modern raps like "Cookie Jar" and "Peace Sign/Index Down" contain steady beats with catchy lyrics and witty (though incredibly obvious) statements.

The track "Live a Little" will quell anyone's alternative thirst, with whiny vocals and more notable rock undertones than its Quilt peers. Those with a jones for older, steady rock will identify with R&B/'70s hybrid track "Like Father, Like Son (Papa's Song)." Rock and rap aren't the band's only concerns - the band also experiments with reggae, dance and soul.

Alongside the overabundance of genres and tastes that hint at its title, The Quilt includes the experiences of the band's members, making it a much more mature album than its predecessor, As Cruel as School Children.

Many other things in Gym Class Heroes' style on The Quilt set it apart from other recently produced hip-hop. The lyrics scarcely contain vulgarities, and imagery and symbols are present throughout. In "Cookie Jar," front man Travis McCoy is unable to keep his hands out of a symbolic cookie jar (interpret at will). "It's hard to look innocent when I got cookie crumbs all over my face."

Although the album has clever lyrics, the majority of songs are by no means danceable. The slow, steady beats placed behind the vocals give way to a more laid-back atmosphere, one that would contradict a club scene. Don't expect to hear too many of these songs on the dance floor - the album would be a better soundtrack to a relaxing car ride.

Despite the variety of music on The Quilt, this jack-of-all-trades album does a really good job of being different. Most musicians fail miserably when they try to carry out this collection of genres and sounds, but Gym Class Heroes, surprisingly, succeeds. If you are tired of albums whose songs all sound alike, The Quilt is an end to frustration.