Cadence Songs of Vice & Virtue. Release Date : March 21, 2006. Label: Paperweight Records. Rating: Andy doesn't dig rating stuff. Okay, saying nothing of the gorgeously-done album artwork with the elaborate varnishes (how much did THAT cost??), certainly the first thing one thinks of when they come across a modern-day white hip-hop artist, is either Eminem, or Total Crap. Not that I'm a huge fan of Eminem, but I get it anyhow. But, the guy looks too stylish to be an Eminem type. He looks more like Jamiroquai. So at this point, I'm not knowing what I'm about to hear. I'm not generally big on hip-hop, but you know what... I like this. Charming and real comes across in the liner notes, where every song title is followed by a little blurb from Cadence about the tune. And to open, the adorable sounds of Cadence as a youngster, being recorded by his own mother. How sweet! That quaint intro is followed immediately by a heavy-hitting hip-hop tune - fantastic sound. This would KILL in the clubs on a huge sound system. I can see where those little Eminem comparisons do come in on this song. I figured it was simply because he's a white rapper, but there are some vocal similarities within this song, not to mention a little sprinkle of edgy urban issues. That's followed by a lighter, r+b style tune, and then back into the sharp edgy stuff. Well the"Squeaky Clean" song is more of the bling-rap. Weird. This guy is all over the hip-hop genre only four tracks in. Although I think this song is a bit tongue-in-cheek, a diary of his ready-getting rituals. It's tough to tell exactly where he's coming from, but if nothing else, the man is diverse. And the sounds are still great. The drum sounds are so thick. He continues to bounce back and forth between sexy r+b songs and crazy hard rap songs. This guy should be on the rise. The lengthy LP crackle ending to "So Alone" is a little odd. Still, from religion, to the city, to stereotypes, to the music industry... Cadence covers a lot of ground. A genuine album with a lot of themes and thought put into it. Oh the humour of "Find Me Some" is great. Bahaha. Oh this is marvelous. Aces! And we end the same way we begin - childlike voices... Oh, the Muffin Man. Every soldier I see is younger than me - my little brother's 18 now think about this here, he can take a bullet but he can't drink a beer... Song of choice : The fluorishing rise of the too-brief "Untitled 7/12/05" is my favourite. Powerful. -Andy Scheffler Elsewhere Cadence website Published : April, 2006.