It's been some time since I last heard from Pfilbryte, an alternative hip-hop artist who painted a colorful, if slightly skewed, view of his world on 1998's Imperfection. I remember being incredibly impressed with what Pfilbryte had to offer, and expected to hear much more from this young artist - that was, until the label he was signed to closed its doors.

Out of the blue about two months ago, I received an e-mail from Pfilbryte, asking if I'd be interested in reviewing his latest disc, Preservatives Affirmative!. Of course, I was not about to say no; I was interested to hear what approximately three years had done to his musical vision... and while it took me some time to adjust to the change in his sound, Pfilbryte proves he's lost none of his power or wit.

One word of caution, though: this is a disc meant to be played at top volume through decent speakers. Running it through a cheezy squeakbox isn't going to do the sound any justice - and, frankly, you'll end up missing some of the sonic texture that Pfilbryte layers into his music.

Blessed with a full backing band (including live drums - obviously he appreciates the power these have over their synthesized brethren) and vocalists, Pfilbryte waxes eloquent about his love of cereal ("Preservatives Affirmative") and beer ("I Like Beer"), nursery rhymes ("King Cole"), religion ("Believe Me") and the love for a child only a parent can feel ("I Know"). Through it all, he makes sure to never become too serious for his own skin... and he never becomes too silly to cover up the deeper messages.

Delivering the payload in a style akin to Dr. John joining Digital Underground, Pfilbryte uses his vocal range to create different moods throughout Preservatives Affirmative!, while maintaining a credibility throughout the project. This is why tracks like "Bicycle," "7 Wonders" and "Suburbancooltriphopmixofpop" (no, the space bar didn't get stuck on that last one) work so well. Pfilbryte might initially come off sounding like the clown prince of alternative trip-hop, but he demonstrates early and often that he's quite serious about his craft - and his dedication is evident. (I did, however, eventually tire of the interludes from popular comedy movies. Still, a minor glitch, and one not worthy of making a federal case out of.)

Admittedly, it takes a little time for the listener to acquaint themselves with Pfilbryte's sound - and while I admit it's been some time since I sat down and listened to Imperfection from start to finish, I considered myself to be familiar with Pfilbryte's style. Yet even I had to take a few stabs at this particular disc, simply because I wasn't grasping what Pfilbryte was trying to say. Eventually, I got it, and it proved to be time well spent - though I wonder how many people would be willing to make such an investment of time and effort.

Preservatives Affirmative! is serious enough to be noteworthy and humorous enough to be locked in your memory. All Pfilbryte needs is the opportunity to spin his tales on your eardrums. Listen to him; you will not be disappointed.

Rating: A-

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