Although only his third full-length as a solo artist, Cage has been a known rapper in NYC for over a decade (he was even dissed twice on Eminem's 1999 debut). Depart From Me is his long awaited follow-up to 2005's excellent Hell's Winter. On that album, Cage relayed very personal stories about his drug use, abusive father, and overall mental instability. And it didn't hurt to have a friend in El-P to help with the production (DJ Shadow even produced a track). However, with this latest release, Cage has decided to try a kind of rock sound. Gone are the dark and futuristic El-P beats and in its place are generic rock/rap trash as done by former Hatebreed guitarist F. Sean Martin. Big mistake. It is understandable to want to try and progress as an artist but why attempt to sing if you cannot. And that is what Cage attempts to do throughout the album. In fact, the first single "I Never Knew You" would not even be classified as a hip hop song. Lyrically, Cage is still as twisted and self-depreciating as ever ("Dr. Strong" draws from his own personal experiences with mental institutions), but there are for too many throwaway moments (trendy "indie rock" fused "Kick Rocks", the vampire song "Look At What You Did" and the punk of "Fat Kids Need An Anthem" to name but few) on Depart From Me to justify a successful album. When on, Cage is on (the all too short El-P produced "I Lost It In Haverton" is a highlight even though its running time in less than two minutes) but unfortunately, this time around he is rarely on. Maybe Cage should return to focusing on his music rather than his image (Shia LaBeouf and him are good friends with LaBeouf in talks of portraying him in a biographical film and even directing the music video for the previously mentioned "I Never Knew You"). Or perhaps Cage has just reached his potential and Depart From Me is a testament to his decline.
2.9/5.0
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