So, 2006 is over in the eyes of year-end listmakers, but there’s a Ghostface record sitting near the top of most of those lists, and one’s left wondering in the wake of More Fish whether it’s the right one. The release of a new Ghostface album justifiably necessitates unchecked adoration, because Ghost’s continued blipping on the cultural radar is a feat in and of itself. Dude raps crazy no matter what, and he does so over the beats he wants about the shit he wants, and even if “Back Like That” was the worst track on Fishscale it was still better than “Smack That” or “Show Me What You Got” or, by comparison, 70% of Made in Brooklyn. This unflappable quality -- let’s call it “Ghostfaceness” -- placed Fishscale in the uppermost tier of 2006’s musical output.

More Fish is gonna fuck with things, kinda. Doomed to abject year-end neglect, it’s an admirable companion piece to Fishscale. Better than that, really, but I’ll get into that in ’07 when I review the thing proper. “You Know I’m No Good” is a proper banger, rolling bass thumps that click against one another every other measure, guitar lines spiraling like smoke over emphatic horns: that soulful shit, dusted chorus, and, yep!, three hot Ghost verses. He’s pissed and dirty, horny and sad, slipping insecurities and secrets like a drunk coworker. Dude screams “Say my name!” at the end of the second verse, again and again, as angry as he is hurt. Like the rest of More Fish, it’s a toned and stark reminder of Ghostface’s humanity; by eschewing the punchlines and show-off eccentricity of Fishscale, he again breaks the mold he cast.

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