Man, I hate it when this happens! You know, when you end up liking something you didn't want to. I'm one of those people who really frowns on the lack of originality and the imitation of trends within music. So I should have been throwing this debut by rapcore fiends Spoken out the window, especially since the rap vocals are so similar to de la Rocha's of Rage Against The Machine--but I kept putting the disc in over and over for some reason, and ended up really liking it (much to my horror)!
I think what won me over is the band's fully organic sound and catchy enthusiasm. They aren't the product of some lame-o corporate schmuck, but punk rock kids with a good sense of rhythm and some instruments. No big production or gimmicks, just a groovin' hardcore band kickin' it with all they've got. Everything is separated nicely in the mix, though, so you can appreciate the individual talent going on (there's some real nice bass and drum work to look for).
The lyrics take the opportunity to rebuke and exhort a lot, and deal with serious and relevant issues that bother the band. Matt's delivery of them is right on, emotive and full of attitude. He mostly uses the raspy white boy rap style, but on a few songs he experiments with actual singing and sounds totally different. His voice then is very clean and interesting (reminding me of Luxury maybe), and I hope he uses that style more in the future. Also, when he sings instead of raps, Spoken takes on a unique alterna-hardcore vibe more to my liking. All in all, though, this is a great debut that rapcore fans will dig for sure, and it might snag a few guys like me who appreciate real music.
4 tocks
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