Two (!) Reviews of Cloudy October's The Metal Jerk

Two reviews? What the hell is he on about now? Well, it's really quite simple. My dear friend Jessika and I were talking a while ago that it would be fun to let two people review the same record, especially if one of the reviewers doesn’t usually listen to that kind of music. I think it might be refreshing to hear what a so-called outsider has to say about a genre he or she doesn’t listen to on a daily basis. So that's what we've done here. Two reviews of the same album and neither one is more correct than the other. After all, what it all boils down to is personal taste.

Jessika's review:

Until just recently, until I became friends with Michael that is, I thought that hip hop was just a noisy business with a lot of yo yo bullshit, but thanks to my dear friend I´m starting to realize that it is a bit more than that. I will hopefully get there and I´m willing to make an effort and maybe in the end I might be a home girl wannabe with a hardcore rock’n’roll disability. So read this review and know that I don´t have a clue and this is my attempt to fill that blank canvas.

I started off listening to the lyrics and I guess Cloudy October got what he wanted, it was a total mindfuck. Usually when this happens you get the picture after a while but this is just what I just said: a mindfuck literally. All I get is this yada yada about how great he is at what he is doing and everybody else is shite. The whole of The Metal Jerk's lyrics seems to be just “words, words, words” as our dear Hamlet would say. Although I must say that Hairline Fracture that deals with mid life crisis and hair loss made me smile a bit.

Moving on to the music in itself I feel better. To me it’s a nice mixture of old, new and a nice variety of different music genres. There is a nice blend of jazz, reggae and lots of guitars, which is, by the way, my favorite part. This is a new uplifting experience for me that use to think that almost all hip hop sounds the same. The music is the reason why this album gets 3 out of 5.

Michael's review: 

I first heard of Cloudy October about a year ago when I saw the video for his track Lowerface.  I really dug the production on that one, and felt that overall the beats on The Aviator is Dead were good. One year later now it's time for his debut album The Metal Jerk. Once again I'm feeling the production on it. I also like that he's got a nice flow and is really articulate. Too many emcees out there today mumble their lyrics, or are just not concentrating enough to really come off sounding good. The little downside with being articulate on a song though, is that you have to have really good lyrics to present. Unfortunately I think that's where Cloudy October's weakness lies. Not that his lyrics are bad. They are just really unimaginative and time after time you realize that you heard these kind of lyrics many times before. I agree with Jessika though that Hairline Fracture for example has some entertaining lyrics. But what makes that song really good is it's old school rocksteady production. And that is a good example of where Cloudy October's real strength lies. In the production.

Jessika's rating: 3/5
Michael's rating: 3/5