Dan le Sac vs Scroobius- Angles
Dan le sac, is a loose French translation of the saying "in the bag". This feels quite appropriate because with debut album "Angles", this hip hop duo have lived up to the hype created by huge single "thou shalt always kill" and have put this album "in the bag". Now if you'll excuse the cheese, ill get to the review. I am not a major hip hop fan, there are several artists that i can bear but the majority i choose to ignore. The main reason for this is because of the subject matter it always seems to revolve around the same areas such as money, fame, violence and sex. However on a chance hearing of Dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip's new single " Look for the woman", i was pleasantly surprised, the production and music was interesting but what really intrigued me was the intelligent and intricate style of rapping. After this i decided to explore this new discovery more thoroughly by buying their album.
"Angles", is like many debut albums. In the fact that it does not have a concept as a whole and is more of a collection of songs. The title may refer to this, a look at life through many different angles. The album is a whirlwind of different ingrediants, its satirical "Thou shalt always kill", moving "Angles", catchy " The beat that my heart skipped" etc.
The album begins with a rally to arms by Scroobius Pip, " i ain't gona take it no more", " we ain't pushing the boundaries, we're blowin them up". Similar to those cries seen through out many epic war films like " Gladiator" for instance. The listener becomes caught up in this uproar before Pip ends it suprisingly, "tonight, well gee just wanna have some good ole fashion fun y'all". It then blasts into the very catchy, football chant-like, "The beat that my heart skipped". The mix of protest and humour from the opening speech is fitting to an album which heavily features both. The infectious opening song is matched by other catchy numbers, "Fixed" and "Back from hell." The former is a smart attack on the state of British hip hop, "i've gotta holster i keep biscuits in it". Dan le Sac's production is a huge factor in the success of these tracks, molding with Pip's lyrics to make songs which never become monotonous when they easily could do at times.
The album counters these tracks with the poignance of "Tommy C", a homage to the British comedian, "Look for the woman", a track about being stuck in a relationship and not knowing where you want to take it. Both are unique when put into context with what the rest of hip hop seems to be focusing on and because of this are very refreshing. However the album really moves into its own darkly, beautiful territory with the tracks "Angles" and "Magicians assitant". Both relate to self harm in different ways, "Angles" tells the story of several different charcters who cross each others paths, "Things in life aren’t always quite what they seem, there’s more than one given angle to any one given scene." It is a very skilful track and the character's seem eerily real and familiar, i think Dan le Sac's electronic music is at its peak here, the track is a perfect balance of lyrics and electronica.
The album becomes even more fascinating with the intelligence of tracks, " A letter from God to man", in which Pip takes the character of God addressing mankind, the track samples "Plannet Telex" by Radiohead. "Thou shalt always kill" is still as strong a track as it was when it was intitially released. It is both hilairious and very, very true. "Thou shalt not read NME", "The Beatles were just a band, Led Zeppelin just a band", When i say "Hip", thou shalt not say "Hop". It goes on.
In conclusion, i believe this album is a must for any music fan looking for somthing new and different. The mixture, of humour, protest, intelligence and at times sadness is fantastic. The only under power track on this album, is "Rappers Battle" which falls into the trap which many of the tracks here could but skillfully avoid. It is monotonous and boring. The only other fault of this album is somtimes, the music smothers some of the lyrics but this is rare and for the majority the two work well and are nicely balanced. Go out, be surprised and have your belief in hip hop rejuvenated.
Key tracks:
Angles
Thou shalt always kill
Fixed
Look for the woman
