The Internet: Purple Naked Ladies

On account of their very vocal kinship with Toro Y Moi and Ariel Pink, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the OFWGKTA collective as artsy beatniks. That said, the Internet’s Purple Naked Ladies posits a drastically different influence: late ’90s R&B. From the sound of it, Odd Future engineer Syd tha Kyd grew up on classic joints like Aaliyah’s One in a Million. There was a serene momentum to those older tracks that Syd and producer Matt Martians re-create handsomely. Purple Naked Ladies will probably give pause to those expecting OF-style apocalypto-crunk, but the quiet storm of “They Say” suits Syd to a T. While the warped “Lincoln” features evil production genius Left Brain (of weed-rap duo MellowHype), most of the album tweaks baby-making throwbacks from Aaliyah, Ginuwine, and Static Major. Syd has a pitch-perfect ear for the particulars of that era; her compositions here are smartly appointed. Pyramid Vritra raps his verse on “Gurl” in an unfazed monotone, playing Magoo to Syd’s Timbaland. (4 out of 5 stars)