Sims rocked the big tent with Lazerbeak at the SoundTown festival two weekends ago. / Kyndell Harkness, Star Tribune (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Sims explains his free new EP, 'Wildlife'
The Doomtree rapper is giving away the five-song counterpiece to 'Bad Time Zoo' to promote fall tour.
August 30, 2011 at 10:30PM
A day after Sims and Lazerbeak abruptly dropped a new five-song EP on fans -- available here as a free download! -- the Doomtree rapper took time out to explain himself. "I guess it's free because I felt like thanking everybody who has supported Beak and I this year," he said, pointing to the success of "Bad Time Zoo," his sophomore record that came out in February. "[It] has done really well, and we wanted to do something in return."
Most of the tracks were outtakes from the "BTZ" sessions, including at least two that Sims said he tried to fit onto the record but couldn't. He thought of saving the EP's lead-off song, "The Lighthouse," for his next album, "but I decided to wipe the slate completely clean before starting the next project." Both "Lighthouse" and "Mad Night" sound like late-night, party-winding-down tracks, but the tempo and intensity pick up with the gospelized rave-up "Here I Stand." In short, the fact that it's free definitely doesn't mean this EP lacks value.
The EP's release is well-timed to the first Sims and Lazerbeak headlining tour, kicking off Sept. 17 in Salt Lake City right after Doomtree Inc. plays the Snowboard on the Rocks festival at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver (which Atmosphere impressively just sold out on its Family Vacation Tour). The "Bad Time Zoo" crew, including Cecil Otter as opener, will end its run Oct. 15 at the Fine Line.
Sin City attempts to lure new visitors with multisensory, interactive attractions, from life-size computer games to flying like a bird.
