Never Better (album)

Never Better
Studio album by P.O.S
Released February 3, 2009
Recorded 2008
Genre Alternative hip hop
Underground hip hop
Length 55:38
Label Rhymesayers Entertainment
Doomtree
Producer Lazerbeak
P.O.S
Paper Tiger
Dosh
MK Larada
P.O.S chronology

Audition
(2006)		 Never Better
(2009)		 We Don't Even Live Here
(2012)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AbsolutePunk (91%)[1]
Allmusic [2]
The A.V. Club (B+)[3]
NME (6/10)[4]
Boston Phoenix [5]
Pitchfork Media (7/10)[6]
Consequence of Sound C+[7]
HipHopDX [8]
XLR8R (7.5/10)[9]

Never Better is the third album from P.O.S, a member of Minneapolis indie hip hop collective Doomtree. It was released on Rhymesayers Entertainment in 2009.

Music

Over half of the record is produced by P.O.S himself, along with contributions from Doomtree producers Lazerbeak, Paper Tiger and MK Larada. It features guest verses from Doomtree compatriots Sims, Cecil Otter and Dessa, as well as Astronautalis.

Release

The first single "Goodbye" was released in December, 2008. The second single "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)" was released in January, 2009 on iTunes and Amazon.com. The track "Savion Glover" is a remix of a track previously released on Doomtree's False Hopes in 2007.

The album was released in a limited custom transparent digipak edition designed by Minneapolis designer Eric Carlson. It features 16 solid picture inserts with 6 plastic overlays, allowing the owner to create their own cover art combinations.

Reception

Initial critical response to Never Better was favorable. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 75, based on 8 reviews.[10]

Many reviewers on Rap Reviews placed this album in their top ten list for 2009, with it even claiming the number one spot in a few.[11][12][13][14][15]

Track listing

No. TitleProducer Length
1. "Let It Rattle"  Lazerbeak 3:33
2. "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)" (featuring Doomtree)P.O.S 2:37
3. "Savion Glover"  P.O.S 2:19
4. "Purexed"  Lazerbeak 3:24
5. "Graves (We Wrote the Book)"  Lazerbeak 3:14
6. "Goodbye"  Lazerbeak 3:07
7. "Get Smokes" (featuring Jessy Greene)P.O.S 2:38
8. "Been Afraid"  Lazerbeak 3:39
9. "Low Light Low Life" (featuring Sims, Cecil Otter, Dessa)Paper Tiger 3:14
10. "The Basics (Alright)"  P.O.S, Dosh 3:23
11. "Out of Category"  P.O.S 3:16
12. "Optimist (We Are Not for Them)"  P.O.S 3:19
13. "Terrorish" (featuring Jason Shevchuk)P.O.S 2:13
14. "Never Better" (featuring Judah Nagler)P.O.S 4:03
15. "The Brave and the Snake / Hand Made Hand Gun" (featuring Astronautalis)MK Larada 11:51

References

  1. ↑ Beringer, Drew (January 7, 2009). "P.O.S - Never Better". AbsolutePunk.
  2. ↑ Purdom, Clayton. "Never Better - P.O.S". Allmusic.
  3. ↑ Bahn, Christopher (February 3, 2009). "P.O.S.: Never Better". The A.V. Club.
  4. ↑ Draper, Jason (April 21, 2009). "Album review: POS - Never Better". NME.
  5. ↑ Faraone, Chris (February 18, 2009). "P.O.S. - Never Better". Boston Phoenix.
  6. ↑ Patrin, Nate (February 4, 2009). "P.O.S.: Never Better". Pitchfork Media.
  7. ↑ Young, Alex (February 27, 2009). "P.O.S. – Never Better". Consequence of Sound.
  8. ↑ Vasquez, Andres (February 2, 2009). "P.O.S. - Never Better". HipHopDX.
  9. ↑ Herman, Max (February 5, 2009). "Never Better". XLR8R.
  10. ↑ "P.O.S: Never Better (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
  11. ↑ Juon, Steve (December 29, 2009). "The Year 2009 in Review". Rap Reviews.
  12. ↑ Bernard, Adam (December 29, 2009). "The Year 2009 in Review". Rap Reviews.
  13. ↑ Taylor, Patrick (December 29, 2009). "The Year 2009 in Review". Rap Reviews.
  14. ↑ Bond, John-Michael (December 29, 2009). "The Year 2009 in Review". Rap Reviews.
  15. ↑ Sirota, Eric (January 5, 2010). "The Year 2009 in Review". Rap Reviews.

External links