Playlouder - Music is the Network

There will be a lot of text laid down by many on the subject of this album, some will be more eloquent and direct than what you read here, yet, as someone who has been anticipating this release for some time, I feel like throwing my hat into the ring. 

I will avoid filling you all in on the obvious information, the youtube phenomenon of their first videos et all, Wikipedia will glady do that for us both. There has been a lot of excitement in the development of this partnership however, so maybe that warrants a brief introduction for the benefit of the unfamiliar. Shying from the Breakcore scene that was providing joy and irritation in equal measures a few years back, Dan Le Sac began laying beats down for Mr Pip, who had been gaining attention through his spoken word performances and self funded release "No Commercial Breaks", which featured some truly original material.

A significant amount of this material resurfaces, albeit in altered guise, on "Angles", including the title track. Where previously, a double bass and piano provided the majority of the background music for Mr Pip's hearty linguistic acrobatics, Le Sac's beats bring the music to the foreground, to be judged alonside the lyrics in equal measure. "Surely, this is what musicians are meant to do?" I hear you cry. Yes! It is indeed. the only evident problem here, is that sometimes, the two seem slightly at odds with each other. 

For the majority of the album, it works exceptionally well. Opening track, "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" maintains the force and originality of the first listen all those months ago. The same applies to "Thou Shalt Always Kill", which got us all talking about it in some way or another. "Look For The Woman" is bizarre as it simply doesn't sit well within the album. "Angles" another highlight from "No Commercial Breaks" is revised here to great effect, his narrative and structure convey an academic traditionality in his writing, combined with an astute sense of the art of versification.

It is in paying close attention to the narratives, that your personal experience may become disjointed. People are going to take different things from this particular record, some will care not a jot for the witticisms and observations of Mr Pip and focus their attentions on what are overall, quite superb beats. In that, they have created something quite original that deserves attention. 

It will hideously divide opinion and so, I neither wish to praise, nor condemn either it's qualities, or it's faults. I will let you decide, for the simple fact that, here is an album that will evoke much cynicism and many snide remarks in the months to come as well as high praise and adulation, so before your perception gets muddled by enforced music press opinions or over exposure (Soundtracking E4 advevrtisments and such) you could do much worse than to spend an hour to formulate your own conclusion. 

It also gains extra credibility due to the fact that he quotes James Stewart as Elwood P Dowd in "Harvey" on the closer "Waiting For The Beat To Kick In". So, go, listen and hopefully, enjoy, as it would seem that the main intention for us is to enjoy this album, for it has much to offer.