Back Into Time! Apequest 2 Review

Review by Adam Ray

The Professor has returned! With a sequel to the cosmic classic Apequest album. We can see our bringer of Steampunk songs going full force to broadcast new and masterful sounds akin to that of School of Whimsy with all the progressive storytelling elements of the original Apequest album and welcome inclusions of many Amazing Friends.

Trophy Room. The album starts with a lively sequel to The Attic that masterfully weaves together references to philosophy, comics, and his old songs. Most albums open with the hit, and this single track perfectly blends the Professor's rap skill with shows there's a real progressed as a rapper, a lot of technical skill.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong perfectly interludes the songs in with the time travel story. Pirates Hate Me is a welcome look into how best the Professor handles pirates. The second time they've featured in a time travel album after This Means War. The frontman of The Cog is Dead, a very talented steampunk style band. These two musical powers combined into a rap battle that sounds welcome and pirate-y.

It wouldn't be the Professor's music without a moment to be life affirming. With tracks like Celebrate, Splendid, and even Sunskip, the Professor's music is always comforting. Another You is another grand track in that pantheon done with the themes of the cosmos and multiple realities.

We get a narrative interlude before the Friendly Vikings. There's a level of musicality and big band jaunty energy that we can expect from The Sweetchunks band, playing all the way from Hampshire, and embodying the look and ethos of these friendly Vikings.

The Big Bang brings a chaotic soundscape and heavy beat perfectly to mirror the sinister and dangerous environment. Paracosm brings us a very noir, very thoughtful, almost slam poem trying to bring us into how it is to be the Professor. There's elements of noir jazz to this track, oddly reminiscent of The Attic with moments that call back to the slow, thoughtful tracks of Massive Attack. It's a rare treat to get storytelling done so well through well produced music.

Lock-In At the End of Time is a welcome return to Inn at the End of Time. This sequel is perfectly synced up to match up with the original, with lyrical cues that match, and the same chorus. The sentiment of making "new traditions" is highly important for this track, and the album overall. 

Cosmic Ape rounds the story in a poignant and welcome way that still keeps things truly working in a cosmic, timey-wimey way.

The album ends with the same uplifting messages that we can expect from the Professor. Family Matters is a humbling message to celebrate your people in a melodic song to family with a heavy house style beat. While Closing Credits is in the found sound style has always been so good with Professor Elemental. It's an uplifting, super instrumental at Tom Caruana at his most powerful. The listener can easily imagine this colourful cast of characters off on an adventure across everything.

Apequest 2 is a shorter, sweeter, less grand, but more poignant musical outing for Professor Elemental than Apequest 1. We get to see story driven music done at its absolute finest, and we, as longstanding friends of Professor Elemental, are eager to hear where the music will take us next!

Apequest 2 is available to buy and download right now through the Professor Elemental Website!