P.O.S.

Before putting finger to keyboard, I did a little reading up on the newest drop from punk-rocker-turned-hip-hopper P.O.S. was written in a moving car. From the urgency and energy portrayed on Never Better, that car must have been cruisin' with the top down and pedal to the floor. Similar to artists like The Flobots and N.E.R.D.P.O.S. uses his inherit abilities as a musician to push the hip-hop genre into exciting new territory. Though instead of utilizing the tools and tones provided by jazz, funk and the other usual suspects, P.O.S. looks to more unconventional means to create his madness.

Standing out amongst a sea of already above average rap, P.O.S. brings crossover appeal out into the open with the exotically-flavored "Let It Rattle," drivingly intense "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)" and sporadic cyber-thrash/beatnik vibe of "Purexed." Rock guitars and larger-than-life choruses elevate "Graves (We Wrote The Book)" and "Goodbye" into categories of their own; while still maintaining a sense of ear-catching accessibility. Many similar moments serve to define P.O.S. as an artist more interested in pushing the rap genre forward rather than re-inventing the wheel, while "Get Smokes" does just that.

Honest, charismatic, progressive and entertaining are all ways to sum up Never Better, as well as the man behind the music. There is nothing forced or fake about the unconventional sounds the pulse from this album, which is exactly why P.O.S. is equally effective in front of crowds no matter if he's on the Warped Tour or in the club.

—Ryan Ogle
03.01.09

It almost feels mean-spirited to call P.O.S. rap-rock, so sullied is that name from millennial mook-rock, but as he proudly interpolates Fugazi and Notorious B.I.G. on Never Better, it becomes obvious that this term is one he's determined to redefine. Track titles like "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)" and "Terrorish" don't disappoint, all churlish guitar thuds, chest-thumping choruses and rapid-fire rhymes; it feels like the Linkin Park aesthetic done right, which is, really, a strange artistic achievement, but one handily accomplished. These hot flashes of intensity are nicely contrasted by neighbors like the darkly soothing "Optimist (We Are Not for Them)" and the satisfying boom-bap of "Savion Glover," giving the album some assured ebbs in intensity. Better still is the bombastically chintzy "Goodbye," which sounds like the type of beat Just Blaze would save for his very favorite client. But this is staunchly P.O.S.' show, and as an MC he's eager to dazzle. While his big emphatic Midwestern enunciation recalls Eminem, his emo-rap fixations are more in line with El-P or Cadence Weapon. He's fixated, obsessed even, with his friends, particularly those who've abused his trust, and constructs his record from the pensive moments of solitude between vainglorious barnburners. Between this brutal bleating and the general anger of the production, the record is dank and punishing on the ears -- probably just as P.O.S. intended, but still a step or two shy of the sonic maturity he so yearns to lend the subgenre. ~ Clayton Purdom, Rovi