Author: Crossfire

It’s no secret that the Minneapolis hip hop scene is where my heart lies. From the well known [Atmosphere] to the hidden gems [Oddjobs], it’s a city that consistently produces beats that hit me hard and drive my love for hip hop.

With his third album, P.O.S has taken that love to a whole new level. His two previous albums were both great but after having heard Never Better, the progression on both Ipecac Neat and Audition is there for all to see. Layering incredibly dense drums over jarring samples one minute and then dropping rhymes over stripped back barren landscapes, Stef Alexander proves he has the know-how to mix it up but still bring cohesion to the fore.

Lyrically on point, be it talking about politics or domestic abuse, P.O.S is never preachy and lets his passion come through in his delivery and production. His hardcore past is very apparently on this record, but there are straight up hip hop bangers too, with his Doomtree family popping up on guest steez.

Click above to hear The Basics [Alright].

If an album comes out this year that betters this, it’ll have to be the most perfect record ever pressed.

Abjekt.

If you’re worried that Casiotone For The Painfully Alone might be some kind of horrific neon-clad electro/emo hybrid, then lay those fears to rest – the reality is a far more inviting prospect. CFTPA is the brainchild of a certain Owen Ashworth; a former California film-school student who, in 1998, set off on a musical journey with only his old battery-powered Casio keyboard for company.

To date, it’s been a largely successful journey, and Owen now enjoys a dedicated cult following – one that is surely set to grow with the release of ‘Vs. Children‘. That keyboard may have served him well, but – as on 2006’s ‘Etiquette‘ album – it’s been increasingly pushed aside in favour of pianos, organs, acoustic percussion and various samples. The result sounds almost like a lo-fi Johnny Cash tinkering with the instruments in his local church; a comparison aided by Owen’s deep, resonant vocals. It’s a more expansive sound in comparison to previous CFTPA records, but his signature sense of warmth and intimacy has not been lost.

As you might expect from the instrumentation, there’s a certain lyrical fascination with religion on show here (check the weary, organ-led shuffle of ‘Harsh The Herald Angels Sing‘) and also with crime (opening track ‘Tom Justice, The Choir Boy Robber, Apprehended at Ace Hardware in Libertyville, IL‘ is apparently inspired by the arrest of one of Owen’s former co-workers). Yes, this is a man with stories to tell, and a pretty damn fine way of telling them.

‘Vs. Children‘ may not instantly grab you, but give it two or three listens and its understated charm will rapidly take hold of your senses. Check out ‘Optimist Vs. The Silent Alarm‘ on the link above.

Alex Gosman

Self-styled pioneer of “post-punk laptop rap” MC Lars is the musical equivalent of The Simpsons – he’ll make you laugh, he’ll make you think, and he’ll tackle just about any aspect of 21st century Western culture in an entertaining manner. ‘This Gigantic Robot Kills‘ is the follow-up to 2006’s ‘The Graduate‘, and sees Lars taking more of a band-centric approach to his songs (as opposed to previous efforts, which were mostly composed by Lars alone on his laptop).

He’s amassed an impressively long list of collaborators for this record, too. His hero Weird Al Yankovic plays accordion on the maddeningly addictive ‘True Player For Real‘ (essentially a self-introduction song), whilst Paul Gilbert from early 90s rockers Mr Big handles guitar duties on recent single ‘Guitar Hero Hero (Beating Guitar Hero Doesn’t Make You Slash) – sample lyric: “Dimebag brought the dope harmonics, my five buttons are electronic”.

Elsewhere, there are songs about such diverse topics as Lars’ drummer’s filthy house (’35 Laurel Drive’), an imaginary tale of a kid forced to become a pro video-game player by his father (‘O.G. Original Gamer’), and a surprisingly poignant tribute to a dead friend (‘Twenty Three’)

There are a couple of duff tracks towards the end of the record, but with so much variety on offer, ‘This Gigantic Robot Kills’ is never dull. Check out ‘We Have Arrived’ on the link above.

Alex Gosman