It’s not like you can point out Viberia on a map, but considering that Jneiro Jarel holds it down for the city of brotherly love, no one could fault you for thinking that it might be a suburb outside of Philadelphia.
However, with the return of Dr. Who Dat? (Jarel’s beat-making alter ego), it’s becoming clear that Viberia isn’t even a part of this solar system. More intergalactic than the previous album Beat Journey, Beyond 2morrow is a digital-only release, which almost emphasizes its intangibility and amorphous qualities.
The keyboard stabs on “Space Balls” sound like laser beams pitch bended for maximum effect. “Nights Over Nantes” balances neck-snapping percussion with reflective tones and “Viberian Twilight” sucks you in like a black hole with digitized rim shots that could double for filtered pimp slaps. The entire Shape of Broad Minds crew comes out to play on the title track, but its deliberate out-of-sync lean works against it.
All is forgiven, however, once you get to “Ghetto Dreaming.” Dressed in robotic finger snaps and bass lines so distorted they feel like electric shocks, Jarel’s vocal harmonies are a welcome addition to this piece, closing the album in fine fashion. Whether he’ll continue to travel further away from Earth’s orbit or splash down into our atmosphere is anyone’s guess, but good beats are guaranteed either way.
