Very Mercenary

About

Released: 04/1999 Picture it... A tytpical London suburb, the not so typical stench of an oil refinery, birds singing, trains passing like ghostly earthquake, & the most beautiful hip-hop you've ever heard, very mercenary: smashhng stories of explosive passion in breathtaking bee-you-tea-full colour! They don't hold back. They let it go, let it flow, Comic Relief & all. With 14 new tracks to resuscitate your dead brain cell, The Herbaliser returns with their 3rd LP, freakin' that pseudo international espionage agent feel to the fullest, with instrumental tracks like "Missing Suitcase" & "Goldrush", (implementing the full 7 piece crew), it's difficult to tell what's live and what's looped. "Sit back, relax & be cool, recline" Roots Manuva of Ninja Tune affiliated label Big Dada, will help you unwind with "Starlight". Floating in mid-air, ballroom style, eyebrow raising vibraphone lines descend then ascend to a smile. And there's nothing better than an MC who sheds lights with their words & can sing soulfully in tune. "Life is like a road with many sign, with many turn, many stop, many line." Words to live by woven through a beat so melancholic you could cry yet surprisingly optimistic. No wonder this uplifting track featuring the Dream Warriors is the single. Philosophy can be quite weighty though, & thanks to The Herbaliser's sense of balance, versatility & good timing, that laugh you needed all day is only breaths and steps away. In "The Sensual Woman", a track inspired by a scene in "Dirty Harry", you'll find yourself immediately aroused (or just plain embarrassed). Subtley scandalous flute progressions of sexual innuendo slither seductively as hypnotic beats of rhythmic child-bearing hips pulsate lasciviously side to side. (I don't know about the Jello though...). "sometimes I feel like a I need a little soul" How about you? Track II, "Shattered Soul" ios a quick fix. No words could convey the velocity of this instrumental masterpiece. The last 2 tracks are milestones for the crew. They never anticipated collaboration with "Queen Order in the Physical" Bahamadia (one of their favourite female wordsmiths), or maverick underground UK rapper, Blade. In "When I Shine", Bahamadia flows fluidly, fluently alongside a funky guitar progression enveloped by mysterious Kamitian undertone. Bitten by the Millennium Bug, Blade's lyrics are feverish with density & conviction in "Mind the Frame", a refreshing change compared to typical hip-hop braggery. But what's so typical about a crew that let's hip-hop be compositionally beautiful yet brutally honest? .

via Last.fm

The Clerk says

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