Category: Reviews

There are many rappers out there who’d have you believe they have many dimensions – they’re a hustler, they’re a businessman, they’re this, they’re that – and yet the more they try to persuade you, the more contrived it becomes.

And then you have B. Dolan, a man who not only proved his worth in the spoken-word world, but also set up Knowmore.org, a consumer activist website. Not one to rest on his laurels, he signed to Sage Francis’ Strange Famous label and tore up stages at Paid Dues and Rock The Bells – if anyone has a reason to preen and pout, it’s Bee.

Thankfully, he doesn’t fall into that trap, instead he has teamed up with Alias to deliver Fallen House, Sunken City. I must say, as much as I’m not a fan of Alias when he raps, his production has always been good, be it straight up hip hop or more chilled out stuff such as his collaboration with Tarsier, but he has taken it to a next level on this release, from the slamming boom-bap of Reptilian Agenda to the almost I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead era El-P of the opening track Leaving NY.

With such a solid base to showcase his lyrical talent on, Dolan goes for the jugular right from the off with “I was told to pick my battles. This isn’t my war. My fight is with myself. I’m leaving New York” and continues at a similarly high-octane pace, lamenting consumerism and the acts of multinationals in Fifty Ways To Bleed Your Customer and showing an ability for story-telling that seems as natural as it ever could be in Body Of Work. His delivery is as impressive as his lyrics, putting his message across powerfully whilst not forcing the listener into uneasiness as the likes of Immortal Technique unfortunately do. No, it’s obvious Dolan is passionate, but he’s able to portray that as part of his album, rather than pushing that as the main focus.

Signing to Sage Francis’ label is bound to draw comparisons, which would be unfair. Certainly, Dolan is his own man and whilst Strange Famous feels like a perfect fit for this record, he doesn’t ever find himself in Sage’s shadow, which is a testament to both the content and the man himself. And, hey, he has a P.O.S. verse on there, you know I gotta thumbs up my Doomtree homies. This is an album that’ll surprise you in all the right places. Pick it up and savour it. And then look forward to checking him out in the UK throughout March.

Check out the video below to see what to expect.

Abjekt.

Thanks to the over-abundance of premature verbal gushers in music journalism I’ve developed some problems with the phrase ‘up and coming’. If something is up and coming already then what’s next for them? Wiping off their brief blogosphere success with a damp cloth and flaccidly play on to an already bored audience perhaps? Bands shift in and out of listener popularity oh-too quickly when the hype machine is turned up to 11 (I think the knob is stuck there?), and to describe Houdini Dax as simply an up and coming band from Cardiff would be an insult to the lads. They have an established live presence at a sickeningly young age, yes. They’ve already gained respect from the musical peers, correct. Houdini Dax are up, for sure; but the only thing coming in this relationship is the listener, again and again and again.

Let’s take their recent EP, The BBC Sessions as a sample of what to expect; there is an immediate comparison in the music to countless good British rock acts (the guitars meet at a synapse in which both The Beatles’ Rubber Soul and Blur’s Modern Life Is Rubbish are playlisted) but when Jack Butler’s sonically rich vocals swamp each track with a smooth prowess, each song becomes enriched with something that makes this not only very listenable but instantly replayable.

Robin You Lie is a simple, overwhelmingly catchy jam, packed with layered chanting and psychedelic rug-cutting evocation. But it effortlessly achieves something way beyond all the other twee faggots whispering crudely thought out metaphors over a fucking xylophone solo that whimsically thrive in the indie music scene right now. Houdini Dax are a much needed, not so much nostalgic as a refreshingly inspired fuzz-pop that will make dancefloors squeak and the soles of your shoes as smooth as the wet wipe you’ll need to calm your climaxing eardrums.

Stanley.

Having given birth to the likes of Arab Strap, The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Twilight Sad, it’s fair to say Scotland’s musical heritage (albeit great) is centred around some pretty miserable sounding bands. In fact, if your only knowledge of Scotland was its music, you’d be forgiven for thinking the country was a pretty glum and depressing place to live. This is where Errors step in to correct those misconceptions.

Their 2008 debut brightened up even the UK’s grubbiest dance floors, and now the band are back with the ingeniously titled Come Down With Me. It’s not every day a record’s name is inspired by a daytime cookery program, yet Errors aren’t your everyday band. Their unique and arresting sound (slightly frustratingly dubbed Post-Electro) combines blissful electronics with angular guitars, to devastating effect.

Take recent single, A Rumour in Africa, which neatly summarises the band’s charm. In less capable hands this could be a recipe for a post-Klaxons rave disaster, but Errors are subtle yet assured in their craft. Unlike so many other tracks clogging up indie discos, the band move from hook to hook ensuring that their music stays fresh and re-playable.

Check the video below for proof, which features some slightly bizarre male/puppet bonding.

Freeway is one of those rappers you know you like, but you feel just hasn’t reached the top of his game, well that’s all changed with this record. His Rocafella status propelled him into the spotlight and he ran admirably with it, but it wasn’t til he guested on Jake One‘s White Van Music on The Truth, that I really saw him in his element.

Teaming up again with Jake One looking after all the production duties on The Stimulus Package, Philly Freezer has definitely stepped up a notch and proved himself to be not only a good storyteller, but a distinguished voice amongst the plethora of rappers out there. Starting as they mean to go on with Throw Ya Hands Up – a straight up boom-bap banger – the duo get those necks moving and don’t let up throughout the entire album.

The drums snap hard, none more so than in Never Gonna Change and One Thing [which features an excellent verse from Raekwon] and allow Freeway to vibe over the beat with ease. It’s easy to imagine the big man bouncing from foot to foot as he delivers his lyrics.

The subject matter flits from calling out snitches to how awesome he is to a superb objective look at how drugs have caused problems across the board from the point of view of the drug itself. Not something you’d expect from a more commercial rapper, but, once again, Rhymesayers have sprinkled their magic and it works perfectly. Even when he tries a little crooning on Freekin’ The Beat, he doesn’t fall flat, a true sign that this album worked.

Take a bow chaps, this one’s a biggun. Check the video below for the proof!

Abjekt.

Fresh from producing for Britney Spears on latest album Circus, Canadian electro pop group Let’s Go to War are back with Life We Live.This is to be the first single from new album Karmegeddon and it sets the record up perfectly with this hip hop infused party gem.

Although Let’s Go To War could be described broadly under various electronic subgenres, perhaps what makes this track work so well is its wide-ranging influences. Whether it’s the gritty Ed Banger inspired electronics, or the heavy sounding boom bap drum beat; it’s all coated in an Andrew WK-like party positivity that makes it perfect for the club.

Perhaps the bands recent remix work for the likes of The Whip and The Music has helped them re-connect with the dancefloor, yet there’s something natural and instinctive about the track which suggests that the two have never been far apart. Here’s hoping for more of the same when the full length drops in March.

Check out the house-party vibes in the video for Life We Live below.

Sleekly Brian.

Riding the wave of the recent surf pop revival are West Palm Beach, Florida’s Surfer Blood. Bad puns and genre tags aside, though, Surfer Blood have crafted one of the year’s first great rock records and marked themselves out as one to watch for 2010.

The band’s vision is never more brilliantly realised as on Swim; a near perfect three minute slice of anthemic power pop. This is one of those occasions where a band catches a moment’s inspiration and gets a song so right that it would be difficult to argue against it. Like anything from Weezer’s Blue album, or The Get Up Kids Something to Write Home About, Swim is as instant as they come and doesn’t look likely to get old anytime soon.

With debut album Astro Coast now officially released, Surfer Blood have caught the Zeitgeist at a good tim,e and look likely to be an early critics favourite for the year. Check out the band performing on their run of late night American talkshows, before they arrive in the UK next month.

Sleekly Lion.