Lif Off

The Boston-based Perceptionists are one those peripheral side-project groups non-crazed Definitive Jux fans never get around to checking out. By accident we caught "Medical Aid" on Def Jux Teaser III, and we're pretty sure we liked it. But among albums to pick up from 2005, the trio's debut (and most recent) Black Dialogue got lost somewhere in the mix between the Clipse's We Got it for Cheap, Vol. 2, M.I.A.'s Arular, and Aesop Rock's Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives EP. It's too bad, though, the Perceptionists didn't register louder, because that dusty copy of Black Dialogue at Amoeba is pretty decent. Mr. Lif -- for his throaty cadences and brainiac Space Invader lyrics -- is the most recognizable of the bunch, while rhyming partner Akrobatik and DJ Fakts One mesh well enough with the Def Jux's dystopic, honk-and-crunch aesthetic. As such, the Perceptionists break you off with a party as much as they leave you with historical references to go home and Wikipedia. Now that the Perceptionists are rolling through town on their Road to the Super Bowl Tour (dudes are serious Patriots fans), it's not out of place to wonder about a new album, given that Dialogue is nearly three years old, but their publicity company remains mum.
Tue., Jan. 29, 9 p.m., 2008