If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Erik Bardin When Kassa Overall announced his upcoming hip hop covers album, the song I was most excited for was his cover of Wu-Tang Clan's iconic "C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)." I no longer have to wait, since the jazz visionary just released his reworking of the song. Overall's cover is everything I hoped it would be. It's a laid back jazz song with some flourishes that are reminiscent of free jazz. Somehow he makes the classic hip hop track sound even cooler, and if you weren't paying attention you might not even pick up on the fact that it's a cover. The iconic sample of The Charmels "As Long as I've Got You" is the main thing that will jump out at you that screams "C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)," and Overall has recreated the song in his own mind-blowing way. Kassa Overall says of Wu-Tang Clan: “ Their whole energy was an alternative to the get-the-money-shiny-suit mentality. For me, the ...

Photo by Erik Bardin For his upcoming album, jazz artist Kassa Overall has chosen to cover eight hip hop classics in an instrumental jazz style. The first song we can hear from this is a cover of Digable Planets' iconic "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)." The original was one of the breakthrough tracks for the jazz rap movement of the 90's, but Overall still reworks the song completely for his version. The instantly familiar horn line starts the song, and then Overall goes for it. It feels much more experimental and free than you would expect from a cover song, and if you missed the first minute or so you might not even realize it's a version of "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)." This is a great sampling of Overall's upcoming album that will make you desperate to hear his take's on Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, OutKast, and more. Kassa Overall says of his reworking of "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)": “ It   nods to Digable Planets’ smooth ...

Photo by Harrison Fishman Squid have never been a straightforward band, but their latest single pushes the boundaries of what we would expect from the English band. "Cro-Magnon Man" takes their post-punk and art rock sound and injects an overabundance of psychedelia and electronic noise. This is an oddly danceable song. It may not be a club banger, but it's going to be perfect for those of us who shuffle around awkwardly. If the theme of Squid's upcoming album is evil, "Cro-Magnon Man" fits that with a dark undertone lurking throughout. This is fun art rock at its absolute finest, and we're fully on board with wherever Squid wants to take us. You can watch the video for "Cro-Magnon Man" below. Cowards is due out February 7 on Warp Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Squid, check out the band's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the video. Mon. Feb. 17 - Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Tue. Feb. 18 - Manches...

Photo by Machine Operated It's been a while since I've found a British MC that I've gotten excited about. I jumped fully on board the garage scene when The Streets and Dizzee Rascal broke, and I've dabbled with British hip hop on and of since then. With the latest from Wu-Lu, I may be fully on the bandwagon again. "Scrambled Tricks" has all of the gritty and grimey sound we want from the genre, but Wu-Lu adds a layer of what is almost noise rock onto the sound. This reminds me of how early Public Enemy records weren't always completely pleasant to listen to because of how rough they sounded. "Scrambled Tricks" isn't anything like the vast majority of hip hop in 2022, and that is a fantastic thing. Miles Roman-Hopcraft (aka Wu-Lu) says of his upcoming album: “ It’s a patchwork of situations that have happened,  but it’s a cohesive thing of trying to understand where someone is coming from and trying to explain where you’re coming from – relata...

Photo by Holly Whitaker The latest from Squid is this frenetic eight minute burst of post punk. An eight minute song doesn't exactly sound like the word "burst" could apply, but "Pamphlets" fits that. It's a fast paced song that chugs straight forward while careening at different speeds and paces. "Pamphlets" is a ride. It seems like it's about to explode at times, and then doesn't. Squid are bringing us all with them on this intense and compelling journey. It sounds kind of like if The Dismemberment Plan went more towards psychedelia and post punk than emo. Drummer/lyricist Ollie Judge says of the new song:  “ It’s about all the rubbish right-wing propaganda you get through your front door. It imagines a person with that as their only source of news being taken over by these pamphlets. ” You can watch the video for "Pamphlets" below. Bright Green Field  will be out May 7 on Warp Records. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here ...

Photo by Holly Whitaker Hailing from Brighton, Squid are going to be a hard band to define. Their new single, "Narrator," is an eight minute plus song that is part post punk, part New Wave, part noise, and part jam. It reminds me of bands like Talking Heads, The B-52's, and Big Audio Dynamite with a harder edge. At least, for the first four minutes or so. After that it transforms into a weird funk/soul jam but crammed through a colander of punk, and emerging from that as a bizarro freak-pop song. And then it becomes... something else? This is the kind of song that isn't going to be for everyone, but the world would be a better place if it was. The band explains the song: “‘ Narrator’ was inspired by the 2019 film A Long Day's Journey Into Night. The song follows a man who is losing the distinction between memory, dream and reality and how you can often mold your memories of people to fit a narrative that benefits your ego. Martha Skye-Murphy made the point that th...

Photo by Alex McCullough The latest from Brighton's Squid takes a little while to get started. That's not to say the first minute-plus of "Sludge" isn't good. It's quite good, and has a unique but familiar decidedly British feel. It kinda has a bit of that 90's Britpop leanings towards hippie country vibes. Once the vocals come in, the song starts picking up into the territory of great. But then right around the two minute forty-five second mark? Pure bliss. The song both devolves and progresses into this herky jerky post punk disco jam session of both rage and joy. It's both gorgeous and too abrasive, which means it's basically a perfect song. You can listen to "Sludge" below. The song is available now via Warp Records. For more on Squid, check them out Facebook and Twitter .