One of LA’s most revered underground artists,
Busdriver, returns to the global arena with his second
full length LP, Fear Of A Black Tangent, three
years after achieving recognition for his first solo
release, Temporary Forever.
Back in 2004, Driver released the mini album Cosmic
Cleavage and gloriously found his feet in the avant-garde
world of indie hip-hop on Ninja Tune’s sister
label Big Dad, producing a work that chewed up elements
of jazz and old school hip-hop along with the ethics
of underground music.
Fear Of A Black Tangent continues in this vein,
with Busdriver’s overtly random sonic assaults
casting their shadow over this eclectic soundtrack,
from the aging electronic-organ-inspired freestyle of
the opener, Yawning Zeitgeist, right through
to the hints of lounge-jazz of the closing track, Lefty’s
Lament.
Throughout the album, the quirky production, variations
in style and speed and blend of genres presented to
the listener provide a multi-layered tapestry that should
be given a few listens to get its full impact. The musical
backdrop changes with every new track, yet somehow blends
seamlessly from one to the next, creating a tangible
range of abstract continuity. With production duties
taken care off by some of California’s brightest
underground luminaries, such as Daedelus,
Omid, Danger
Mouse, Paris Zax and Thavius
Beck, each weaving their particular brand of transcendent
magic to create the perfect platform for Busdriver to
develop his perplexing wordplay, Fear Of A Black
Tangent.
After conquering the underground with the Project Blowed
collective, Busdriver maintains here his leftfield stance
on hip-hop and bestows a stupendously diverse and creative
piece of work. His rhymes are speedy to say the least
and trying to take in every word is a colossal challenge;
yet, with continuous touches of humour, Busdriver remains
perfectly on track and ensures that the album never
loses momentum.
Oli Marlow
4.3/5 |
