Halfro releases Squalor, gets funky at album release show this Saturday

To see Philly-based hip-hop quartet Halfro play live is to partake in one of the most fun and rare experiences a live show-lover can have: a young band with impeccable execution that gives its always-eclectic audience a raucous party while showing no sign of stagnation.  When the band drops their debut self-released EP Squalor at Saturday’s album release show at 3rd and Girard, audiences will get to hear that energy dropped straight into a lively, sometimes-existential-always-rollicking record that successfully captures a great deal of their live show’s immense power.

Album opener “So Close” is emblematic of the heights reached throughout Squalor’s emphatic seven tracks. A flourish of horns leads into a strong drum-bass-keys charge, settling into an airtight groove under emcee/singer David Patrick’s silky boasts-meet-introspection vocals; the rest of the song alternates between these orchestral and metronomic polarities, also employing soft shimmers of background vocals and emphatic crooning over an unrelentingly-metronomic instrumental.

All of these hallmarks, accompanied by opening sets from The Bul Bey and Verbatum Jones (both of whom have guest verses on album standout “Change of Tide”), will be on full display Saturday night. You’ll want to bring your dancing shoes to this one.

Halfro releases Squalor with a show at 3rd and Girard on Saturday. The Bul Bey, Verbatum Jones, and DJ Tanktop will also perform. Tickets are $5 at the door. Click here for more information on the show.