Review Summary: Refreshing, relaxed, refined.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/prpj8vq1bl5wbz3/Loyle+Carner-A+Little+Late.zip
Bursting onto the generally underrated South London hip-hop scene are 20 year olds Loyle Carner (MC) and Rebel Kleff (Prod.): a slick outfit, presenting their debut EP complete with production values that evidently pay attention to detail and spoken words that use personal sentiment from the home and the city second to none. Their working relationship is already a rooted and well oiled machine, well poised to consistently win over crowds at small London venues, and their only studio venture thus far, 'A Little Late', featuring 7 tracks, captures the same charming aura.
De La Soul's '3 Feet High and Rising' may have already shown that it's possible to successfully take the anger out of hip-hop, but Loyle Carner is adept at the art of demonstrating that there's no need for that anger to make a comeback for a highly pleasing listen. The production on 'A Little Late' is strong: primarily based on jazz influences with perhaps some ska thrown in, it develops throughout the tracks, often starting with a more muted recording of the core motif before elegant bass and drums come in and build. Delightedly, no static, raucous sounds or aggression from start to finish on 'A Little Late', which greatly aids Loyle's vocals and subject matters: a choice that clearly had the correct thought put into it.
On the MC's end, Loyle succeeds in showing mixed and mature emotions throughout his 7 tracks. These range from tongue-in-cheek and cynical tales from the city and London youth culture; notably on the chilled, calm and collected 'Sea Shells', to a sentimental lament that captures the sombre atmosphere that Loyle wants to convey strongly and with crystal clarity: complimented again impressively by Kleff's moody, pacing production.
A strong debut in an emotional aspect, it's peace of mind to spill the fact the technicalities that the 21st century hip-hop fan looks out for haven't gone ignored. Loyle effortlessly fits a large bulk of spoken word into each track, but his flow of English never becomes strained or uncomfortable as he rattles off the clever, personal lines in a passive voice at some speed, whislt eternally demonstrating that he's in complete control; that he's done this a few times before and you needn't worry that it'll derail. The verses work in tandem with the rhythm of the production: the avante-garde and often pretentious detours that numerous acclaimed rappers take to kill time during tracks aren't present. No song demonstrates this better than track 2: 'October', a track dominated by Loyle's story of anecdotes and insight, whilst it should singer Kiko Bun makes a guest appearance and provides some impressive octave range on backing vocals.
'A Little Late' is an auspicious start to a career: whilst only just over 17 minutes long, it's packed full with promising ideas that could make for a fantastic LP if the same vein is continued. Albeit he needs to be careful to make sure it's not exhausted. Loyle's Achilles Heal is that he does follow a formula that thus far he seems a little afraid to stray from: he takes a deep breath, the passive, soothing lyrics fluctuate and sway downstream to the closing moments of the track using an often repeated clause whilst the jazzy production gently climaxes mid-track before fading again. Nevertheless, these clauses always bear a powerful metaphor, be it public or personal (look out for 'B.F.G.' and 'Cantona'), and the production on all 7 tracks will have you nodding your feet without noticing. I'm sure that as his confidence grows from strings of live performances throughout Brixton, Hackey and so forth, this could change, and Loyle could begin to experiment further whilst still retaining the charm and mood that wreaks such success on the snapshot début. Although the overall 'package sound' isn't terribly varied, the idea that 'A Little Late' is a gateway to a more radical LP that remains throbbing, endearing and prepossessing in aural aesthetics is an obvious conclusion to jump to. Stay alert.
4/5.
