Last year, the great underground rap lifer Open Mike Eagle got together with his longtime collaborators Still Rift. and Video Dave to form a trio called Previous Industries. Their debut album Service Merchandise has a loose but resonant theme: Childhood memories of the kinds of retail spaces that have since become abandoned ruins. Now, Previous Industries are keeping that theme going with a brand-new surprise EP called Evergreen Plaza.
The five-song Evergreen Plaza might have that title because the initials are EP. (On Twitter, Open Mike Eagle says that the group "invented a shorter album we're calling an EP.") Wino Willy and Child Actor produced the five-song collection, and Pep Love, part of the historic Hieroglyphics crew, appears on the song "West Coast Video." All the songs are named after brick-and-mortar businesses: "Andriana Furs," "Goldblatt's," "Waldenbooks," the non-Wesley Willis cover "Rock N Roll McDonald's." It feels very, very good to hear these guys bringing back more of their freeform, expansive punchlines. Stream the EP below.
The Evergreen Plaza EP is out now on Merge.
