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CHROME DOPAMINE HIT
Danny
Not long aſter dropping the brilliantly energetic single ‘Shockwave’ in early october, Norwich- based MC Chrome came through with his latest album Dopamine Hit, a fantastic showcase of skill that is sure to put him on the radar of anybody craving an old-school hip-hop sound. Through some flashy, sample-heavy production that wouldn’t sound out of place on 9th Wonder or Grandmaster Flash record, Chrome takes us back to the 90’s with his instrumentals craſted by himself and his collaborators. Some of my favourite tracks on here come just from the instrumentals alone such as the interlude ‘Dopamine Extra’ with it’s looping sample overtop some classic boom-bap inspired drums and a smooth bassline. The talent doesn’t stop at the production
however, as Chrome raps his heart out over these clean instrumentals, with some tight flows and powerful delivery, he showcases his rapping talent on tracks like ‘Cookin Up’ where he matches the crazy instrumental with some quickfire bars that had me rewinding the track to catch the high-speed rhymes. In terms of concept, Chrome uses the album to talk about society’s cravings for social media, a topic that isn’t new and unfortunately he doesn’t say anything that hasn’t been said before on here, even though I appreciate the change of pace from the modern trend of drug rap. Despite this fairly weak concept, Chrome more than makes up for it in his flows and production, making it one of the more unique and interesting releases to come out of UK hip-hop.
13TH FLOOR RENEGADES THE LAST GREAT DREAMERS
Pavlis
The best band you’ve never heard? That phrase is used far too oſten, but it may be the case for Last Great Dreamers’ heady mix of punk, power- pop and glam. Seemingly on tour for most of the 90s, LGD never got the breaks their songs and hard work deserved Aſter a 15 year lay-off, lynchpins Marc (vox/guitar) and Slyder (lead guitar/vox) relaunched the band in 2014. As with previous LP Transmissions from Oblivion, here they are joined by Denley (drums) and Steve (bass) The LGD template is seemingly simple:
power-pop melodies delivered with punk energy, glam stomp and indie nous, all harmony vocals, crunching riffs, thundering drums and unforgettable ear-worm choruses. New Situation, the title track and Whose Side Are You On are near perfect examples of what they do so well. There is a welcome diversity here, though.
Mid-paced rocker Speed of Light is like the Pistols’ Steve Jones playing with Quo. I Think I Like It could be a 2018 Big Star. For Your Information could be Notting Hillbillies-era Kinks cockney Americana. No Sunshine, Broken Things and latest single Primitive Man are belting rockers. Miles Away is gloriously melancholia while the singalong in Going Home should be filling stadiums. A cracker of an album that deserves to be
heard.
THE 1975 A BRIEF INQUIRY INTO ONLINE RELATIONSHIPS
Louis
“We’re fucking in a car, shooting heroin, saying controversial things just for the hell of it.” Welcome to The 1975’s exhibitionist ruckus.
Following a downward spiral of hotel rooms, illicit substances and a spat in rehab, Matt Healy’s new record is part sombre church confession, part signature slick and polished pop and part disastrous abuse of voice distortion. TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME, I Like
America & America Likes Me and The Man Who Married the Internet drown in synth and effects pedals. You can’t help but feel with these tracks that the titles came to Matt in a flash of inspiration and the music filled in the gaps as an apologetic aſterthought. Love It If We Made It and Sincerity Is
Scary are undoubtedly the hits of the record and have the bouncy cadences and lyrical wizardry that put their previous albums head and shoulders above generic boy-band fodder. But, generally you expect an album to be more than just pre-released singles surrounded by 13 dysfunctional tracks. That said, I Couldn’t Be More In Love and
Give Yourself A Try hit the sweet-spot between previous hits like Chocolate and the melty, waltzing musical landscapes of Genesis. I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes) is the perfect show-stopper to round things off with. A Brief Enquiry is too busy hanging
itself with its own narcissism and jumping a hopscotch of musical styles to really know what it’s doing, though its risk-taking and more matured sound shows promise of much better music to come.
OUTLINEONLINE.CO.UK / DEC 2018-JAN 2019 / 33
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