Kidd Russell - The Dash EP

I'll be the first to admit my limited knowledge of hip hop. My only real experience of it involves that one MC Lars show I went to two years ago (and some somewhat embarrassing experiences involving ICP). So, fearless readers, you wouldn't be too surprised when I say I was a bit worried when The Dash EP, a new release by Chicago based Kidd Russell, turned up in my inbox yesterday morning.

Even before listening to the EP, judging by some of his career highlights, it's needless to say that Kidd is already making some waves with his music. He's supported Uncle Cracker, one of his videos, Dear Shooter, was featured on MTV Jams (whatever that is), and his track Rush Rock Remix is now the theme song for ROH Wrestling. It's safe to say that I already had high hopes for the EP, but would it live up to the hype?

Well, actually, yes. The record's opening track, E North Ave, is a fairly rose-tinted view of Kidd's neighbourhood, where it seems nothing (and no one, apparently) works, everything is broken, but the sense of community is still strong, even though the neighbours are “all drunk, broke and smoking”. Rush Rock Remix chimes in with a pretty strong guitar riff, and gives the listener a taste of Kidd's motivations for pursuing his rap career. It's passionate, rhyming off about his love of the stage and the limelight, kind of like Lose Yourself, but a lot less self-loathing. Paradise brings a beautiful ska/reggae feel to the album, but isn't sparse of hip hop show-off-manship, with plenty of bling and cars to keep it firmly in the genre. However, somehow I can't get rid of the idea that this particular track carries a very strange vibe of Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, but that might just be my suburban upbringing showing.

12-bar blues? In MY hip hop? Well, with Hurricane, it's more likely than you think. A track telling the story of the ups and downs of a pretty tumultuous relationship. As someone who has met their fair share of women who destroy everything in their paths, I can most definitely relate to the sentiments of the song. Dear Shooter slows everything down for a little bit, taking the form of a letter to a neighbourhood kid whose fallen in with the wrong crowd, with Kidd urging him to choose another path before it all goes wrong. The track takes an interesting twist, as characters and setting change, taking place on the battlefield, with the shooter becoming an enemy soldier. The song leaves us with the strongest anti-violence message of all: “I don't want to die”. Be.song finishes the EP on an uplifting note, reminding us that “no one's going to lead us out of this rut”. Urging his listeners to be their own role models, and to embrace hope and belief, the track is sadly a bit of a let down, coming across as somewhat cheesy. Thankfully enough, it's only a slight blemish on a fantastic record.

Bonus tracks found on this deluxe edition of the EP include I'll Do One, which kicks off with an excerpt from Will Ferrell's Old School character, Frank The Tank, the original version of Dear Shooter, and a stunning critique of suburban life in Suburban Anthropology. Being my first real foray into hip hop proper in a long time, I'm quite glad that there's still artists out there like Kidd Russell who are, at least partially, rejecting the “gangsta” sensibilities of the likes of 50 Cent et al. Key listening for anyone looking for some decent, authentic alternative hip hop, The Dash EP is attention grabbing till the end.

Kidd Russell's The Dash EP is available for download at iTunes. For more information, check out his website.

Roscoe Vacant - Nothing's Going To Change [EP]

My love of lofi acoustic records goes back to the first time I listened to A Crowd of Drunken Lovers by Robert Blake. The very fact that someone could be reduced to one or two mics and a 4-track recorder, yet still make some of the most beautiful albums I'd ever listened to (and one which still receives a fair amount of spins on my CD player 2 years down the line) actually physically astounded me. It is because of this revelation that I judge most bedroom singer songwriter types by this very high, often unreachable benchmark.

Having said that, it's a fairly inappropriate approach to use when reviewing this newest release by Ayrshire's own Roscoe Vacant.

The EP kicks off with Eve of War, a seasoned live favourite that I must have heard a hundred times before. The song, however, doesn't lose any of it's power or poignancy, and is only complimented by the subtlety of the tracks mandolin lead parts. Four More Years kicks off with an introduction that would have you believe that Roscoe had gone slightly mad and decided to record an Otis Redding cover. This feeling quickly dissipates when his trademark driving punk rock guitar playing kicks in, along with some very unironic pop punk vocal harmonies. The record's title track, a stunning indictment of the hype around the election of President Barack Obama quickly reminds us of punk's most important founding principle: “nothing's going to change, not unless you make it”. Barley Bree provides the listener with a nod to another fairly well known Ayrshire rebel and poet, Robert Burns, while Misery Loves Company comes across as a kick in the teeth to middle class apathy, and is surely not an anthem to be heard at “kicking out time at the 13^th note”.

The second half of the record struck me as somewhat familiar, till I realised that it was actually a short selection of tracks from the earlier Escape from Doom Valley live EP. Eve of War gets it's second, slightly louder exposition, followed by Tight Knots of October, which kicks in with a sound I often acquaint to The Specials being exposed to QOTSA midway through Ghost Town. My only complaint on this half of the record is the overarching sense that this session sounds like it was recorded in a cave (a common complaint I have of community radio sessions).

I find myself continually having to remove myself from my usual lofi mindset while listening to this record in order to appreciate it's obvious punk roots fully. Long story short: if you'd rather hear gentle love songs, sung by middle aged hipsters, stick to Iron & Wine. If ballsy, socially relevant and politically sound folk punk is more your bag, Roscoe Vacant is your man!

Roscoe Vacant's “Nothing's Going To Change” is available as a free download from his myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/roscoevacant)