A tumbleweed blows across the dry, warm ground. Dust rises from the floor and makes it way past the swinging doors of the empty saloon. Cracked glass bottles, empty without a even a sip left in them, are scattered across the hardwood floor. And the sun grins outside, victorious.

That’s a taste of the Old West atmosphere you’ll immediately feel on a first listen of this LP. Nym, a musician from San Francisco, has taken his love for Western film scores and his passion for hip hop beats, and blended them together into a unique, cinematic experience: Warm Blooded Lizard.

The beats on Warm Blooded Lizard make it no surprise that Nym is well known in the MPC community as an innovator; they’re crafted at a perfect balance of supporting the compositions but not dominating the track. Nym weaves his carefully sliced samples into his compositions so seamlessly and effectively that they sounds like their original recording.

These samples are also wonderfully selected. Whether it’s a warning that the man talking not-so-kindly informs you that he’ll take your dough on “Derecho”, the ringing of a telephone and the dialogue of grumpy old man who must answer it on “Rats!”, or a woman’s lament for her lost love (Hanging), these samples set the groundwork for a majority of these tracks and it’s a pleasure to listen to them unfold.

Warm Blooded Lizard is a gem. It’s one of those albums that reminds you why day in and day out, you scour the internet for new music, searching for your latest fix. The fact that there’s nothing else like it isn’t the only reason you should listen to Warm Blooded Lizard; what makes this LP so special is that Nym has composed sixteen tracks that genuinely create a Western atmosphere that keeps you there for its runtime.

You can listen to and purchase Warm Blooded Lizard over at Nym’s bandcamp page.