After the success of Hilltop's 4th album,
The Calling,
The Hard Road is probably the most important album to be released by an Australian Hip Hop group. This album has to power to either capitalize on their previous releases success, making Aussie Hip Hop a force modern music, or it could prove it to be somewhat of a fad.
Now, you might ask how Hilltop Hoods have managed to justify the albums name? How many "Hard Road's" could a group with a Gold CD to their name have had to walk? Well, at present, not many, but prior to their commercial success they did have a few troubles. Most of which are mentioned in the albums lyrical content, but don't honestly think they've been through anything too serious.
For the remainder of this review, I will probably refer to
The Calling a lot. Why? because it's the obvious benchmark when it comes to Australian Hip Hop releases.
The Hard Road is certainly worthy of it's place as a successor, but unfortunately I don't think it reaches the level's that it's predecessor did.
The title of the albums first track,
Recapturing The Vibe, is an indication of what Hilltop Hoods wanted to do with this album. They came within inches of this goal, but unfortunately the albums 15th track,
Captured Vibe, comes a little prematurely. Actually that's probably they wrong way to put it. It all depends on what your 'vibe' is really. I have no doubt that those listeners looking for something to throw in the player at a backyard party will dig
The Hard Road, as it holds plenty of "bangin' beats" for people to get down to.
Another reason I say this is due to the increased catchiness of the album's choruses. Those familiar with their previous works will know that the majority of their songs are memorable mostly for the verses, whereas
The Hard Road has those choruses that a bound to get stuck in your head. It's not a huge difference, but it's something I noticed.
DJ Debris, accompanied by Suffa, is responsible for the majority of the beats heard on the album, and I must say, he has done quite a good job. His beats a generally upbeat, catchy, and well produced. A couple seem influenced by other genres, with the best examples of this being
What A Great Night which sounds kind of Rock-ish, and
Conversations From A Speakeasy, which shows a couple of nice Jazzy touches. Hell, he even sampled the funky bass line for
Clown Prince from a 70's porno film.
As with any Hip Hop release, the vocals are the albums main focus, and both Pressure & Suffa have delivered. I'd always rated Pressure as the better of the duo, but with this release Suffa has improved his deliveries, and I now rate them as equals. This however, may be result of no
really outstanding singular performances though, as
Illusionary Lines was on
The Calling. There is also a number of guest appearances, most of which are from fellow Aussie Hip Hop artists (Murph, Pegz, Drapht + more), with a few International Rappers thrown in for good mix (MC Omni, Braintax and Mystro).
Lyrically, everything is pretty solid. Half of the tracks subject matter makes reference to the 10 years or so that Hilltop Hoods were a group before they got any recognition. The half of the album has that whole BBQ and Beers theme that is associated with Aussie Hip Hop, so it's a nice mix of seriousness and fun. Unfortunately, it's kind of lacking when it comes to some of the brilliant one-liners, which I was expecting after hearing
The Calling. And when it comes to lyrics, the Australian rappers definitely outshine the International guys, for the record.
Pros
- Enjoyable, catchy tunes.
- Slick beats
- Great vocals
Cons
- Accessibility. It might take some time getting used to the Australian Accents
- Failure to recapture some of the better elements heard on
The Calling
Overall, Hilltop Hoods have released another awesome. Like all the other Aussie Hip Hop albums I've heard, it takes a couple of listens to grow on you, but it's well worth it.
The Hard Road actually made it's debut on the Australian charts, which a feat no other Aussie Hip Hop album has managed to achieve. I won't say that Hilltop Hoods have managed to recapture the vibe created by
The Calling, but have instead created an entirely new one with
The Hard Road.
Minor Details
Album Info
Label: Obese Records
Playing Time: 50:37
Release Date: April 6th, 2006
Line Up
Vocals: Pressure
Vocals: Suffa
Mixing: DJ Debris
