[rating=4.00]
When’s the last time you heard an album that was both familiar and refreshingly new? Buzz hip hop act Shabazz Palaces have just created exactly that.
“An echo from the hosts that profess infinitum” is a perfectly haunting, amazing tune that picks up where Massive Attack really left off. No, it doesn’t sound like Tricky. But it does carry forward the harshly dark, eerie tone of early Massive Attack, layering together creepy marimbas, faded out cries, a dark bass line, and haunting lyrical delivery. This song alone is worth the album. While not as sinister, numerous other songs on the album follow in this vein, most notably the jazzy “Endeavors for Never” and the foggy feeling (trust me, it makes sense when you hear it) “The King’s new clothes were made by his own hands."
The album also carries a gritty-yet-melodic hip hop reflective of the grey Pacific Northwest, notably in “A treatease dedicated to the Avian Airess from North East Nubis" and “Recollections of the wraith.” Finally, the album hints at some of the same indie sensibilities evinced by fellow Seattleites Blue Scholars, a sound most evident on "Swerve…the reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding)."
This is an adventurous, powerful album, not to be missed. And in case that weren’t enough – it has perhaps the most interesting album cover this reviewer has seen in some time: a velvet-covered cardboard sleeve with gold leaf-style printing and glitter.
