Trust One - The All Seeing I

Usually the cover art by Albane/DyN means that it is the kind of album that I will like. And if you add guest artists such as Jizzm and Orko Eloheim my interest gets even higher. Sadly though that's all the good things I have to say about The All Seeing I. This was a complete waste of my time. Trust One is one of the worst emcees I've heard in quite a while actually and it was quite painful to get through it. In the end I'm just glad that I didn't pay anything for this record.

Rating: 1/5

Exile - 4 Trk Mind

I was really quite apprehensive when I first heard about this album. I loved Exile's album Radio when it came out in 2009. It was one of the best releases all year. So when I heard that he would go from doing an instrumental album to rapping too I didn't know what to think actually. I felt that this guy had talent enough not to have to have vocals on his music, but let the tracks speak for themselves. So what do I think about 4 Trk Mind then? Well, it's good. The productions are top notch as always, but the vocals are, well, mediocre to be honest. Exile is not much of an emcee and that brings down what could have been a great album to being just an ok one. I hope that next time around he leaves the microphone alone.

Rating: 3/5

AbSUrd - Close to Distantly

What do you get if you combine the following people: AbSUrd, Babel Fishh, bleubird, Ceschi, Filkoe, James P Honey, jamesreindeer, Papervehicle & univac? You can a really amazing album for once. But more than that, you get to witness the beautiful creativity of one of the most interesting artists out there today. Close to Distantly is a real masterpiece if you ask me. Very often when you get albums that feature 17 tracks you seem to get 6-7 too many and you wish that the artist would have cut it short instead. But with the latest offering from AbSUrd you just want it to keep going. Even though the album features this great cast of vocalists, I'm not sad to see that most of the tracks are instrumental. This French producer don't need emcees to paint amazing pictures with his soundscapes and sometimes the lack of voices is just what we need to fully appreciate the handcraft that every track on this album is. Yes Julien, you have just reached top 10 of 2011 without a doubt.

Rating: 4.5/5

Trolljegeren

Trolljegeren

Review: Do you have trouble sleeping? Watch Trolljegeren. It worked for me. But the movie was not without merit. I liked the dry humour and Otto Jespersen as the troll hunter is fun to watch. 

Soundtrack of Week 38

Chedda Cheese vs. Henry Bowers

Another awesome battle from Henry Bowers. This time against Canada's own Chedda Cheese. Good stuff all the way through.

Soundtrack of Week 37

Qlasbeats - Heart Works feat. Riddlore?

New track from Swedish producer Qlasbeats, and flowing on it is no other than the almighty Riddlore? from CVE and Project Blowed. 

  Heart Works (Feat. Riddlore? of CVE & Project Blowed) by Qlasbeats

DJ Shadow - The Less You Know, The Better

It's always a bit tricky to review anything made by DJ Shadow. I mean, he made Endtroducing which, if you ask me is the best record ever made. So whatever he really makes is compared to that one, which is kind of unfair really. The Less You Know, The Better is his first album since 2006 when he released The Outsider. For those of you who has followed my blog since then might remember the disappointment that it was to me. Now in hindsight it's still not a very good album, but I make it easy for myself and just call that album his hyphy period, and leave it to that. So let's put my teeth into his new album then. It's good, it's actually really good. When DJ Shadow is at his best no one comes even close to him when it comes to creating both funky productions and setting amazing moods and soundscapes together. One thing that always makes me happy is to see that he never really leaves the turntablist in himself out, and fill his music with amazing DJ work. What can I really say? It's no Endtroducing, but it's one of the best albums I've heard in a long time and it's great to see DJ Shadow return in strength.

Rating: 4/5

tenshun & babelfishh - Arm in a Grinding Wheel

Taken from tenshun & babelfishh's upcoming double 7" release on Ooohh! That's Heavy and Mism Records.

Scroobius Pip - Let em Come feat. P.O.S. & Sage Francis

I loved the first album I heard Scroobius Pip on. Angles that he did together with dan le sac was a real treat. The follow up Logic of Chance was a sleeping pill though. Let's just hope that Scroobius Pip's upcoming solo album Distraction Pieces is a return to old form again. No matter what though, I love the new video Let em Come where he's joined by P.O.S. and Sage Francis. And the best thing is that we don't have to look at neither of them.

Knives and Gasoline - Breadcrumbs

New video from Knives and Gasoline's newly released album Love Songs for Crime Scenes.

A Band of Buriers - Filth

New video from A Band of Buriers. Need I mention that I love it?

Adulthood

Adulthood

Review: Adulthood is the follow up to Kidulthood. It takes place 6 six later and follows some of the earlier characters lifes. I don't know what to say really. I felt like there was something missing, and I guess it was the same thing that was missing in the first movie. You don't really feel anything for any of the characters and you don't really care what happens to them. I think I prefered Kidulthood to be honest, but I guess if you see that one you might as well see this one too.

Kidulthood

Kidulthood

Review: I liked this movie to begin with. Good acting in general, interesting story to begin with and a great soundtrack and all of it taking place in West London. Unfortunately towards the end it became more and more cliché and the ending was anything but original. Watchable though.

James P Honey & Joel Siméus - Book of Marion

Sometimes it all just comes together. The best of worlds meets. That's what happens whenever James P Honey and Joel Siméus work together. James is an amazing lyricist and I don't think I ever heard a song with him that I didn't enjoy. He's one of those guys that have it all. Style, lyrics, flow, personality. And if you combine that with Joel's amazingly distorted beats you get a match made in heaven. Planck Length Records have now released Book of Marion. It's two songs spanning over 30 minutes together, and it's just so good. And to make it even better, each vinyl comes with a twenty six page book written by James P Honey and illustrated by Timothy Betjeman. Every cover is handmade and hand titled. It is a limited edition 12″ vinyl, in deepest blue marbled with concrete grey. Can't get better than that. One of my favourite releases this year.

Rating: 4.5/5

Brighton Rock

Brighton Rock

Review: Good actors and a classic book. That's the reason I wanted to see this movie. It was a real sleeping pill though. Not engaging in any way and quite annoying actually.

Soundtrack of Week 36

Green Lantern

Green Lantern

Review: I like superhero movies. I just don't like superhero movies with really crappy actors. So I didn't like Green Lantern because Ryan Reynolds is really crappy. Logical right?

Ghettosocks - Stolen Kicks feat. PH aka Pumpkinhead

Brand new video from Ghettosocks.

Red State

Red State

Review: Ever since I first heard about this movie over a year ago, I've been looking forward to seeing it. Kevin Smith is one of my all-time favourite movie makers, and the news that he was going to make a horror movie really got me excited about Red State. And today I finally got to watch it. It's the story of three teenagers who get an online invitation for sex and, being stupid teens, they take it. But they then find themselves the hostages of a psychotic Christian fundamentalists with disturbingly sinister agendas. That the Westborough Baptist Church is the inspiration behind these Christians is quite obvious. I wasn't too sure that Kevin Smith might pull off doing a horror/thriller flick, but boy was I wrong. This movie was better than I'd even hoped, and it once again shows why he is one of the most underrated movie makers out there.

Submarine

Submarine

Review: This coming-of-age movie really didn't have that much new to offer. It felt like we all seen it before. But at the same time it was worth watching due to the actors, especially Craig Roberts in the lead role and the adorable Yasmine Paige. Looking forward to seeing them in more movies.

Attack the Block

Attack the Block

Review: When I first saw the trailer I was a bit sceptic, but I'm glad I decided to check it out. Imagine Critters meets South London meets Simon Pegg. Low budget, but highly entertaining or to say it like in the movie; it's mad wicked bruv!

Little Eskimo Jesus - Girls Just Want to Dance

New video from Little Eskimo Jesus. 

Soundtrack of Week 35

Alias - Fever Dream

I will put this review really short and simple. Do you want to listen to one of the best instrumental albums in a very long time? Then you should buy and listen to Fever Dream by Alias. It really don't get much better than this.

Rating: 4/5