81355
Joyful Noise Recordings
Though they may not have intended to do so, Naptown’s trinity, also known as 81355 (pronounced BLESS), rang out as revolutionaries with their 2021 debut record This Time I’ll Be of Use. When Oreo Jones, Sirius Blvck, and Sedcairn come together, genre evaporates into spellbinding poeticism and sonic hypnosis. Their sophomore LP Bad Dogs acts as an expansive continuation of 81355’s signature sound: an angelic, gritty, enthralling urban hymnal for the disillusioned mind. While This Time I’ll Be of Use was a darker collection that mirrored what was happening in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bad Dogs is an awakening that finds the band trying to break out of that chaos–and harnessing it. “The songs are more hopeful and celebrate life,” they explain. “Finding joy in what we do is the most important thing.” Oscillating between mesmeric live instrumentation and thoughtful lyricism, Bad Dogs is a collective anthem of endurance that echoes long after the record ends.
The floorboards of 81355 stretch far back into the history of Indianapolis (aka Naptown)’s creative scene. Lyricists Sean “Oreo” Jones and Sirius Blvck (Niq Askren) struck a match as one of Indy’s most influential hip-hop collectives, Ghost Gun Summer, before they brought on producer/lyricist Sedcairn (Moose Adamson) in 2020. Before Adamson infused 81355 with his melodic soundscapes, he produced Grampall Jookabox, an underground indie meets jangle pop project also released by Joyful Noise. Though they may be known primarily for their musical output, the members of 81355 are also steadfast in their commitment to community uplift and collective creative expansion. Jones and his partner Jane Sun Kim produce and curate Chreece, the largest Midwestern Hip-Hop festival hosted in the heart of Naptown. Askren plays a pivotal role in the empowerment and advancement of Indy Hunger Network, a local non-profit that addresses food insecurity across Indianapolis. Adamson is a key contributor to Joyful Noise, an Indy-based independent label cutting records for local artists of all genres.
As its texturally emotive cover art (painted by Stockholm-based artist Julia de Ruvo) conveys, Bad Dogs draws its tenacious and untamed spirit from the wild reservation dogs pulsing through the rust hued indigenous lands of New Mexico and beyond: untethered in their roaming, sacred in their fierce communal belonging, yet undefined by physical place. 81355 mirror this essence with their limitless music that defies what some may attempt to categorize as hip-hop or progressive rap.
Bad Dogs, produced by Sedcairn, cracks deeper into this ethos by initiating a more collaborative approach to its creation. For the first time, the project’s live band recorded all together in the studio, with Sharlene Birdsong on bass, Dimitri Morris on guitar, and Pat Okerson on drums. As one of the tightest live bands in Indy—who have toured with Dehd and opened for The Flaming Lips, Vampire Weekend, Chvrches, and more—this addition makes Bad Dogs the most dynamic and fully realized 81355 release to date.
Opening with simple strumming, the soulful and soaring “Guitar” is a reminder to appreciate every chapter of life (“This champagne is glorious / Cheap and I want more of it / It's okay to drink it, even if you aren't victorious”). It’s a celebration of the process because that’s where the magic lies; a resilient ode to self-actualization. Though the boundaries of hip-hop have never contained 81355, the anthemic “Heart of Stone”–which is about “feeling far away from where you need to be but always getting back to the source”–feels emblematic of the genre’s audacious legacy. Here, intricate wordplay (“Henry David Thoreau', I dipped my toes in the Walden Pond”) meets lush, layered instrumentation, each matching the other’s authentic depth and intensity
“Fire Over Me” is a textured, graceful ode to a late musician friend and neighbor that speaks to the value of planting your feet where you’re at and growing outwards from there.“I know we never made it out to California / We didn't need to go there anyway,” they rap over an ethereal melody that fuses electronica and tender acoustic guitar. “It's dope to see the evolution of our city’s sound. There's no bells or whistles or bright lights,” 81355 say. “There's something to say about building our foundation here from the ground up, as opposed to already having a ladder to stand on. It's a community effort, in every sense. We find inspiration in the soil.”
The Bad Dogs listening experience also seeps into visual realms: a short film titled Sleep Study (a nod toIndianapolis’ “Naptown” moniker) will be released in tandem, soundtracked bythe record and produced, starring, and written by 81355 alongside friends and fellow artists from the Indy community. With afrofuturistic undertones, Sleep Study explores the toxic implications of the algorithm phenomenon, post-modern brain rot, and late-stage capitalism.
Across Bad Dogs, 81355 deliver visionary storytelling and disrupt the rap genre while challenging, and often exploding past, their own musical limits. The band is timeless, nomadic, and unrestrained in their exploration, yet remain rooted in honoring their Indianapolis community and uplifting the raw Midwestern storytelling authentic to their sound.
