Created in Atlanta by BOREGARD., Silence of The Lamb is a 13-track effort from one of this city’s more imaginative, visually forward rising artists. Making good on a worldly Emory University education and an accompanying breadth of pop culture knowledge, Silence of The Lamb, peppered with references, is a maximalist’s dream, expanding into every cranny and nook the artist’s imagination reaches into. The music, produced by Ethan Lamb, feels like the consistency BOREGARD. excels within, granting the opportunity to explore rare inflections and flows. Next to featured guests Johnny Apollo, New Rome Cliff, Nai Br.XX, and Wiley from Atlanta, BOREGARD. exposes himself as an artist brash enough to shamelessly shoulder nerd culture, and cultured enough to make songs like the stand-out, “Lay Down”, a dance-hall island rhythm. With Silence Of The Lamb, BOREGARD. plays two sides in soundtracking the worlds of confidently cultured teenagers. There are songs about vanity (“Beyoncé Knows”), allusions to power in real life and in anime (“Cell 2”), relationships (“Meantime”, on which Nai Br.XX delivers the top vocal highlight), and hard work (“Breakfast”).

— Mustafa Abubaker