Foreign Beggars' rap skills don't exactly help the affair, either. Whereas that was Noisia alternating between dancefloor-smushing neuro wobbles and inventive broken-beat interludes, I Am Legion sees the trio creating some seriously half-hearted stabs at the dancefloor and far too many interludes which by and large go the way of the "full" tracks. I hate to make the comparison to Split the Atom, as these two releases are very different beasts, but at least the latter actually showed some goddamn spirit. The thing is a rather watered-down affair, with Noisia's talents wasted on generic beats ranging from plodding, wishy-washy half-time to trap-for-dummies 808s and hi-hat taps. It's a crying shame, then, that the project's debut full-length is middling. Everything that could have gone right with Noisia's foray into grimy, balls-to-the-wall hip-hop went right, and its kick-ass verses and demolition derby of a bassline ensured the song was near-perfect. However, the album's lead single, "Make Those Move," helped quiet fears of impending mediocrity a bit. So, no matter their so-far-excellent record with UK grime/hip-hop group Foreign Beggars (who also appeared on Split the Atom), the merger of the two groups for OWSLA's I Am Legion project was nevertheless met with trepidation across certain corners of the Internet. Sure, they had a boatload of fantastic ones with the release of killer album Split the Atom (Amon Tobin, Joe Seven, Giovanca), but let's not forget they've also produced some questionable tunes with other artists (*cough* KoRn *cough*). Noisia's reputation for collaborations is spotty at best. Review Summary: A major missed opportunity.
0 kommentar(er)
