House parties will forever be relevant and cool. They start in high school with your first beer, first drunk hook up, and maybe even the first encounter with some other substances. Then college steps everything up a few levels with strangers that become best friends or worst enemies in one night. After college, house parties become more like social gatherings where you casually drink cocktails you swore you’d never drink and talk about how terribly the President is doing. So far, Chicago’s Alex Wiley is on a similar arc with his music. His first project, Club Wiley, was a strong effort to find his niche in the colorful Hip-Hop scene coming out of Chicago with his melodic and experimental style. Now we have Village Party via Closed Sessions. In a way, the production is more experimental with less definition to them but the song structures have developed significantly. Wiley’s free spirited sing-rap flow roams free over production from Hippie Sabotage, Odd Couple, and others but never completely loses you.

But before we wait and see what his third project sounds like, let’s allow Village Party to soak deep into our ears as it’s rich in sonic nutrients that your local radio station most likely can’t provide. Besides, I have a feeling that the next project will be a bit more fun than those adult “social gatherings.”

 
Bryan Hahn (@notupstate)