Alchemist's creativity and vision shine on his largely instrumental new album "A Doctor, Painter & An Alchemist Walk Into A Bar."

 It's always a good time seeing a legend at work. Especially once such as Alchemist, who has been enjoying a ridiculously solid year behind the boards. Now, with a few new beats set to arrive from now until The Food Villain drops in late October, Al has opted to set things off with a largely instrumental cleverly titled A Doctor, Painter & An Alchemist Walk Into A Bar. For some context, the project arrives in tandem with an art gallery organized by DRx Romanelli, Spencer Lewis, and Alchemist, the three parties that make up the title. 

For the most part, this latest from Alc is stellar across the board, an immersive journey to fall into on a rainy afternoon. Devoid of accompanying emcees for the most part, Alchemist is free to experiment with a variety of different elements, allowing his arrangements to shine and transition into one another. As such, there's somewhat of a linear journey at play, though it's not always evident what manner of story is being told. Perhaps the central thesis can be best deduced by the intro of Westside Gunn's lone contribution "Stained Glass." "Why does it do so well?" asks an interviewer. "Because of the art," replies Gunn -- cue Alc's dusty drum samples.