Category Archives: Australian Albums

Hilltop Hoods – Walking Under Stars

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by Andrew

Reviewing a Hilltop Hoods record either gets you a heap of calls about sucking up or death threats for saying its mediocre, such is their following for better or worse. They have amassed an incredible amount of support across the world for their unusual style of South Australian hip-hop, and its no surprise there are words such as ‘epic’, ‘stunning’ and ‘critically acclaimed’ used liberally when discussing ‘Walking Under Stars’, but for this reviewer; I can’t help feeling something is missing.

Knife Party – Abandon Ship

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By Andrew

About time! This has to be one of the most highly anticipated albums in the world of dance music in the past few years, notwithstanding the abominable Daft Punk fiasco which will no longer be named on this blog. Abandon Ship has been pushed back further and further release date wise and even this particular version (probably the last) was accidentally leaked by iTunes itself during the beginning of November. But does it stand up to the heavy publicity and anticipation it solicits?

One Day – Mainline

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By Andrew

It’s the return of the One Dayers riding Mainline til there’s no rides left…or something. Ok ok, I’m not as ‘street’ as I wish I was or I think I sound in my head but I have to say One Day is like a crew from heaven. Made up of Horrorshow, Spit Syndicate, Jackie Onassis and the biggest sweetest singing DJ in Australia, Joyride; One Day is Inner Western’s Sydney’s best up and coming crew. In a move which some could call self-indulgent and others prophetic, they joined forces like one huge Oz hip-hop Voltron and produced their inaugural release ‘Mainline’. Thanks boys, you’ve done us proud again.

 

Joelistics – Blue Volume

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By Andrew

I’ve been waiting quite a while for this one after the incredibly honest and raw solo release several years ago, which put Joelistics well outside his former group’s shadow. TZU were one of those groups that Australian independent music embraced, even though they were part of the Gudinski juggernaut. I used to put TZU on par with the best stuff coming out of labels such as Elefant Traks and despite being on Liberation, I always felt their home was with ET. So its fitting that after the effective dissolution of TZU, with pairing MCs Pip Norman and Joel Ma going in different directions, Joel would resurface on Elefant Traks. But Voyager was incredible. It had maturity, intelligence, top level production and power to the lyricism which highlighted Joel’s bush poetry slam thought patterns. But what of Blue Volume? Is it more of the same or just a weakening of Joel’s creativity?

Astronomy Class – Mekong Delta Sunrise

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By Andrew

Australian hip-hop is more often than not pervaded by themes of parties, backyard BBQs and white middle class themes. Mekong Delta Sunrise, the third album from Elefant Traks’ Astronomy Class, is a huge breathe of fresh air. I was only just recently talking of such high praise for L-Fresh’s debut and even went so far as to compare him to Ozi Batla, and after listening to Mekong Delta Sunrise; I’m convinced they are two of the best MCs in Australian hip-hop. Yeah sure, Ozi Batla’s been one of the longest players in the game of Australian MCs, but he hasn’t lost a single edge against the new up and coming upstarts in the game. Mekong Delta Sunrise is by far their best release yet and it shows that when you carry a strong theme throughout an album, it elevates it to a level no one could ever have imagined.

L-Fresh The Lion – One

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By Andrew

Its not often a debut album catches so much attention worldwide and even less often when its an independent artist such as L-Fresh The Lion and his inaugural record ‘One’. Coming from pretty much nothing to a worldwide playlisting in just a few short months is a testament to the strength and diversity of the album. Australian hip-hop is at its best in this record and highlights what I’ve always said about the genre; its at its best when its both political and socially conscious. But politics alone is not enough for an album to shine internationally, so what is it about ‘One’ which makes the grade?

Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2

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By Stewart

Sometimes as reviewers we can forget about a little thing called fun.  In between all the jaded songwriting nitpickery, po-faced production analysis, the endless & futile search for musical perfection and general verbose pontification… fun takes a back seat.  So when the opportunity to review Fearless Records’ ‘Punk Goes ‘90s Vol 2’, a compilation of contemporary hardcore acts covering ‘90s tunes came up, I thought this could be fun!  Read more…

Subsketch- The World’s Worst Rapper

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By Andrew

The Adelaide-to-Oz connection in Australian hip-hop is a breeding ground for some of our best artists and is known to a lot in the industry. Subsketch is one such MC who made the connection early on in his career. Alongside some our finest including Terra Firma, Hilltop Hoods, Cross Bred Mongrels and basically any of the Certified Wise crew; the South Australia influence on Australian hip-hop is strong and vitally important when historically describing the scene. Even new wave SA artists such as Jimblah carry the flame for the middle state’s dominance on well written and introspective hip-hop. But what of Subsketch? Is he really the World’s Worst Rapper?