Fuck me, I forgot all about this. Too many things on my plate. Sorry guys! Here are the partners:

Unrelenting
Salami

NSW
Aurora

Bob
Il Duck

Goofle
Manky

Jackhammer > Phantom Limb > Frownland > Jackhammer

already discussed with bob about the album i wanted to send to him

Dead Prez - Let's Get Free

mankycaaant sent me this album, and I think it was a wise choice. There aren't many Hip Hop acts that have passed me by without at least one single play on my last.fm, but he managed to find one for me.

I have heard of this group, and I even have this album bookmarked for a future listen, so it was nice to finally get around to it. And I wasn't disappointed.

Firstly, the production on this album is incredibly gritty, pretty much from start to finish, and that suits the personality of the tracks, which are some of the most politically/racially/socially aware I have ever heard.

Perhaps the stand out track, "Hip Hop" starts with great lazy bass line, that repeats throughout the song, with an off beat drum keeping your head banging. What I like about this song is that it is not only a song about "Hip Hop", but how what they are trying to do is "bigger than Hip Hop", a concept that not many discuss.

The song directly after is perhaps the other highlight, "Police State". It starts with what seems like a preacher discussing how we are governed by the state, which is a great introduction to the song. It is a politically charged affair that forces you to listen to what they are talking about.

Probably the one issue I have with this album/group is their constant association with white males and oppression. Now, I am not going to be foolish enough to say there is no reason why white males have questions to be answered, but I sense there is some genuine dislike for white people at times, which I didn't expect.

They remind me of Public Enemy in terms of the topics they discuss, which often lean quite heavily on being "pro-black", which isn't a subject I can totally relate to, but one I can respect, especially the way these guys come across.

Either way, really liked the album. Cheers for the pick mankycaaant :)

70 songs....less than 15 minutes!!!!!!!!:clap:

Howard the Duck sent me...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_c3bML36aI5...c/s320/ytb.jpg

well its 80 songs in just over 14 minutes....i guess this would be classified as grind core/noise

i've never really been that into grind core....i actually like my songs to be quite long and to be honest i think i would love this if it were one continuous track and all of these noises were combined in some chaotic way

i must say out of all the albums i've listened to since coming to this site....this album made me smile the most.....this whole album is in a void between brilliant and completely stupid

each track starts with the letter 'G'....which makes it some crazy sesame street episode for someone you might have seen on "to catch a predator"

each track begins with the title of the song, a count "1234) and up to 19 seconds of grinding noise...repeat ad nausum

still it's actually really good....and i think it will always stay on my player if anything for fun bombastic blast of crap in between my stupidly long epic neo classical tracks :)

nice one Howard....and easy to review to boot :)

The album I received from Goofle was Aceyalone's debut 'All Balls Don't Bounce'

http://t.album.youmix.co.uk/77978.jpg

I've always been a fan of hip-hop, not necessarily of the old school variety though, as I feel a lot of artists such as Run DMC, Beastie Boys, etc recieve too much credit for their work.
However, I had not previously heard of Aceyalone prior to listening to this release, so was eager to give it a spin.

It did not disappoint.

Right from the opening track All Balls, this album was consistently strong in terms of lyrical content with a great use of metaphors as well as covering a variety of concepts from the all to familiar racism to showcasing great storytelling technique in tracks such as Makeba.

A lot of artists from the time, fell into the trap of creating some sort of fake gangster persona, but Aceyalone stays clear from this, and apart from the use of the 'n word' on the track Mr Outsider, there is hardly a profanity to be found in this record, which is a refreshing change and also a testament to Aceyalone's vocabulary as well as individuality.

He delivers his rhymes with an almost effortless ease and switches almost seamlessly from a laid-back chilled vibe on tracks like 'Anywhere You Go' to a more progressive aggressive sound on tracks such as 'Greatest Show on Earth'.

What this album is rich in is variety, with each track sounding different to the one that came before, yet all fit extremely well together and nothing on the record feels out of place.

Other than the lyrical content, which is inspired, there are also catchy hooks provided by tracks such as Annalillia and a clever use of sound dynamics.
There is nothing too complicated about the instrumentation with most tracks using either a prominent drum machine or xylophone, but there is no need for complexity there, as everything flows superbly well, and the vocals are never out of sync with the instrumentals.

As I earlier touched on, and perhaps this albums greatest attribute is that every track is individual yet it all comes together so well, there are a great use of samplings and voice effects to boot, including a Beavis & Butthead appearance at the end of the track Knownots, which I appreciated :)

All in all, this album is truly great and I will continue to listen to it over time, I recommend if you don't already own this album and are a fan of the genre or really just good music in general, give it a listen.

A big thanks to Goofle11 for putting me over to this record. I really enjoyed it.

Glad you liked it :)

the album i got from bob is Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat's Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water

it's sounding good on 1st listen, need a rehearing before i can come up with a review

it's post-apocalyptical folk that sounds a bit like Nick Cave

edit - ok, have reheard it:-


Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat - Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water

This is a pretty stark, bleak minimalist post-apocalyptic folk album. It sounds almost beautiful overall, the melodies contained usually sound fragile and ethereal. The vocal melodies sound somewhat like Nick Cave's, though the backdrop is closer to Nick Drake's, even if there are distorted electric instruments here and there. I think the placement of notes and selection of chord progression are tasteful.

It gets really good when it hits a really sombre funereal mood, such as Harrow, which is my favourite song here. The rest all range from good to quite good. My only problem with this album? Well, each song aren't more than two or three chords, so a single song sort of drones and gets repetitive after a while. When the singer's laying a sinister melody, it works. But when the melody is kinda "static", it sounds a bit dull.

7/10

nice review and i'm glad you liked it.....his new album...which came out last week is a bit more eclectic....and damn near "new wave" but still bleep and full of dreariness

just a small correction :)

the album cover you posted is for the album The Nebulous Dreams

thios is the cover for Hewers of Wood, Drawers of Water :)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_deubbZ66Iz...0/s1600/11.jpg

^^oh ok thx

never checked it properly