Dose One and Jel have been concocting creative sounds for over a decade at this late date. The six year hiatus that Themselves went on has found the group rewarding fans with enough music over the last few months to sate the most voracious of Anticon fans. Working in Subtle (waaaay overrated) and cLOUDDEAD in addition to doing solo stuff, both emcee and producer has remained more than busy. The pair has worked at a hurried pace of late with Jel releasing a few solo discs and a soundtrack as the duo released the freeHoudini mix tape earlier this year and now a full length.

Crownsdown begins in startling fashion with “Back II Burn.” It isn’t untoward territory, but it is a bit of an aural departure for a group that didn’t ever traffic in traditional hip hop, but was also able to eschew some of the more nonsensical trappings of experimental music. But a lot of time has transpired since those first two Themselves albums, released in 2000 and 2003 respectively. This first track is surely still rap related, but the near blast beat drumming that Jel breaks out when coupled with the rasppy throated gurgle from Dose One doesn’t present a hospitable beginning to the disc. That’s not the point, but nonetheless…

This new disc finds the duo as informed by its surroundings as on previous albums. The second track, “Oversleeping,” begins with Dose citing his address – I wouldn’t head over there after dark, though – and inviting emcees to get slaughtered. It’s an appropriate boast for a rapper that’s able to summon paragraphs of raps at a moments notice.

Following that track Jel is able to work in some more forward thinking production – with a nod to Knight Rider. The beats continue on in much the fashion without a trace of classicism that was prevalent in previous works not just from this group, but in Jel’s solo stuff. Of course, traditional stuffs was never the focus for Jel, but there was usually some groundwork borrowed from the past. And while CrownsDown doesn’t disregard rap’s forebearers, it moves towards tearing some of it down – that being said, the cuts on “The Mark” are pretty nice.

It’ll be interesting to see how the album is perceived by not just old tyme Themselves fans, but by folks who were introduced to Anticon through the Subtle project. And in mentioning that group (again), there’s a song here dedicated to Dax Pierson, a member of the ensemble who was seriously injured in a car accident and summarily awarded 18.3 million dollars in a subsequent law suit.

“Daxstrong” sports something akin to a traditional drum pattern as Dose gets into what transpired and how it transformed everyone’s life. It’s heartening to have not only seen the music community rally around Pierson right after the accident, but than to have his friends continue to sing his praises points to what Anticon is and how it should be considered. The label was a friendly cohort’s foray into the music biz. It was all just an experiment, but it worked out and CrownsDown does as well.