Good vibes abound on ambitious, collaboration-heavy “Surf”

Hyped by hip-hop wunderkind Chance the Rapper since last October, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment’s debut album “Surf” was quietly made available as a free download on the iTunes store late last week. Sprawling, ambitious and stuffed to the gills with guest collaborators, “Surf” is an immediately arresting record, sure to go down as one of 2015’s quintessential hip-hop releases.

Chance’s pervasive presence on “Surf” is telling enough. The 22-year-old could’ve easily penned major label deals on the popularity and acclaim of his 2013 mixtape, “Acid Rap.” Instead, Chance opted to follow up his breakout by sidestepping the limelight, enlisting as a sideman and an equal to the bandmates that backed him on that mixtape and its ensuing tours. While his charm and optimism grace seven of the album’s 16 songs, “Surf” is ostensibly a group effort, all ego left at the studio door.

In sound, “Surf” is a record that, for all its retro leanings, is firmly rooted in 2015. Ditching the hollow, boom-bap sound that’s soullessly dominated hip-hop for years, bandleader Donnie Trumpet (real name Nico Segal) favors the live band approach that gave added dimension to the recent releases of game-changers Kendrick Lamar and D’Angelo. Where those artists employed dense jazz and R&B inflections to advance serious social and political statements, however, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment use similar instrumentation as a means of celebration. If “To Pimp a Butterfly” and “Black Messiah” soundtracked this year’s racially-charged protests, it’s “Surf” that’ll be wafting through the nation’s block parties after the tear gas clouds have lifted.

If “Surf” is anything, it is life-affirming. On standout “Wanna Be Cool,” Chance bounces between rappers Big Sean and KYLE in panning the idea of life being one long popularity contest. Sending up our cultural obsession with retweets and the Instagratification of our selfies, the MCs’ message of self-confidence is underpinned by The Social Experiment’s brassy, gospel-funk. Complete with Goodwill references, “Wanna Be Cool” is the song that Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” should have been. Joined by fellow Chicago rapper King Louie and Migos member Quavo, Chance leads The Social Experiment again in celebrating one’s true self on “Familiar.” “Cardboard cutout, sharp teeth, smart mouth/ Smile big, small waist, big hips, cut, paste,” Chance teases over wah-wah brass and whack-a-mole flute flutters, calling out the cowardice of cookie-cutter conformists.

Interspersed across “Surf”’s remaining 14 tracks are cerebral interludes, jazz-fusion footwork and spacey funk struts. Joining the party are the likes of reigning nu-soul queen and protégé Erykah Badu and Janelle Monae, respectively, rap royal Busta Rhymes and the fresher faces of Raury and D.R.A.M. Though similar albums have been mired in their own bloated guest lists and melting pot aspirations, Donnie Trumpet and his crew anchor the project by never taking things too seriously.

Sunny and playful, “Surf” is impeccably timely in its orgiastic live production and summer-breaking surprise release. A triumph of humility and community, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment have crafted an album that thrives on its kitchen-sink ambition.

Notable Tracks: “Wanna Be Cool,” “Familiar,” “Slip Slide,” “Windows”

“Sundowner” – Zachary Cale
https://soundcloud.com/noquarterrex/zachary-cale-sundowner

As ghostly organs and soaring guitars crest about him, Cale’s dragging, nasal voice cries into the twilight. Simple and beautiful, “Sundowner” thrusts the songwriter a step closer to the acclaim he’s flirted with for more than a decade.

“Vibe” – Holly Waxwing

More a skittering flurry of dopamine-triggering sounds than a coherent song, “Vibe” weaves an elusive beat through its schizoid kaleidoscope.

“Heartbeat” – Husky

In the wake of Fleet Foxes’ disbandment – for which this reviewer will always, however unfairly, blame Father John Misty’s J. Tillman – there have cropped up a bevy of similarly bearded, nature-boy folk-rockers. Setting themselves apart from the pack of imitators with the harmony-laden “Heartbeat,” Australian duo Husky picks up the Foxes’ torch and runs with it. Through the forest, of course.

“Bohemian Groove” – Nick Diamonds

Nick Thorburn (Islands, The Unicorns), composer for last year’s wildly popular “Serial” podcast, again dons his carbonic stage name for sophomore solo album, “City of Quartz.” Repurposing the atmospheric electro-noir that soundtracked the tales and tribulations of Adnan Syed, Thorburn instead opts for pop.

“You Don’t Know Me” – Son Lux

Art pop in the guise of dubstep, the Ryan Lott-led trio navigates the spaces between drops with jazzy piano chords and springing banshee wails. If you didn’t know them before, you’ll want to now.