Mike is an artist who thrives on working through some potentially inaccessible or confrontational thoughts and feelings using a very upfront and deceptively easygoing way with jokes and wordplay. That's not just in the references he throws around ("Thirsty Ego Raps" gives not-entirely-non sequitur nods to Dave Gahan and Michel'le in consecutive lines), or his knack for internal rhymes and verse construction that actually scan like well-timed improv asides; it's also in how he builds up a self-portrait that establishes his own agency while still opening himself up to the possibilities of camaraderie and community.

Whether it's through casual observation or the to-the-bone identity struggles, Open Mike Eagle's overlap between amusing insights and uncomfortable truths makes for one of the most compelling indie-rap listens of the year so far.

Blue vinyl edition.