Farr Well
Hard Pill to Swallow
(Farrington Llewellyn)

Minneapolis, artist/rapper/activist/community leader Farr Well begins his new Hard Pill to Swallow EP with the urgent, “Think ft. Marcus Kar.” It’s a killer opener with sing-able chorus and slicing shimmery guitar strikes that sets the mood of this 6-song release.

Again, we get very sly guitar upfront pushing things along on the second tune, “BPRR.” I love the riff here, the mix of auto-tuned vocal, again some quite singable moments and Farr Well hitting hard with his desperate rap in the mix of it all. The tune fades out a little too abruptly, but it is still a gem.

Well slows things down slightly for a stick deep-to-your-bones, drum beat, and what might be his best vocal (and melody here) on “L(r)ight ft. Marcus Kar.” Again, we get excellent production, the perfect placement of simple musical moments, and a mix of singing and rapping. Here again, is another too-fast fade, as if Well runs out 0f steam or something to say. He undercuts the fine song he’s created with getting out too fast (where often, I complain about songwriters overstaying their welcome by going on too long). Still, it’s a wonderful tune.

“Kid Again ft. Marcus Kar” has slamming drums, lead bass, and big shouting vocals. It’s big rock rapper, quite unlike anything else here, and surely welcomed because it is. “6_20,” ends, again with slicing electric cutting through with Well’s heavily auto-tuned voice. It’s slightly lighter than what came before but reveals a fast rap in keeping with the rest of Hard Pill to Swallow.