Shpongle - Tales of the Inexpressible

I don't do drugs and this is still awesome.

Shad - The Old Prince

Wow. Such unexpected mastery coming from this underground emcee. Shadrach Kabango's second album, The Old Prince, presents such a wonderful experience. There's so many good things going on here, and it is full of traits that hip-hop albums these days should have -- soulful beats/music, lyrical prowess, and conscious topics. Shad is a seriously talented rapper in my eyes; he absolutely kills it all with his continuous multisyllabic rhyming and creative, fun wordplay. His lyrics piece together and make so much sense, with topics ranging from piracy to poverty. And he can even do this in such a comic manner -- listen to "The Old Prince Still Lives at Home," in which he humorously describes what his poor life is like. After a fantastic 40 minutes of quality music and rapping, Shad leaves off with a poem with a powerful message, which continues on from some of the album's earlier themes.

A masterpiece of hip-hop.



listen to: I Don't Really Like To, Now A Daze, The Old Prince Still Lives at Home

Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun

Hypnotic, trippy, psychedelic, noisy, experimental, and densely packed with percussion. It sucks you in and gets you addicted.

Pendulum - Hold Your Colour

Kinda hard to describe... identical, unchanging, formulaic songs, but extremely high energy. Incredibly danceable, but don't pay too much attention to it or you won't be blown away (that's what I did, being the nerd that I am). Just turn this shit up and rave the fuck out.

Extra points for the sick album art.



Listen to: Slam, Fasten Your Seatbelt