"From The Word Go"
(Inaudible Records)
eight / ten
|
|
MESSIAH J & THE EXPERT "From The Word Go" (Inaudible Records) eight / ten |
From The Word Go sees Dublin duo Messiah J and The Expert tackle their third album. And boy oh boy have they upped the ante here, working their socks off to deliver such a varying and eclectic series of tunes. Expanding their previous hip hop sound, this recording sees the twosome drag all manner of instruments, genres and ideas kicking and screaming into their sound, be it funk, jazz, indie, soul or dance.
The result is a hip hop genre defying end product. In fact if one were to call this simply hip hop I'm sure the boys would take offence. And rightly so. Previous fans will dig the likes of 'Year Of The Genie', 'Megaphone Man' and 'Keep The Noise Down', as they're all classic MJEX - The Experts tight hip hop beats and whirling electronics supporting the rapid fire delivery of his mouthpiece Messiah J, while the new ground arrives in the form of 'Turn The Magic On' ('70s funk - which feature another wonderful vocal from past collaborator Leda Egri), 'Geography' and 'Panic Station' which explore indie rock courtesy of some jagged guitar lines, and 'Jean Is Planning An Escape' which opens up into a pounding four to the floor effort.
And there's even more to swoon over, with the added experimentation with instrumentation really standing out for me - the trumpet on 'Tomorrow Is Too Late' is amazing, yet it's rivalled by the tinkling of the ivories on closer 'The Predicament'. It's small things like this that can catapult a band to the recognition they deserve and more power to MJEX here.
While slinging this review together I managed to catch them live at Tower Records in Dublin where they hammered out the new songs capped by a truly outstanding skitzo performance from Messiah J. With that in mind, picking up the album is a given, but going to see them perform live - where they're fleshed out by a backing band - is a necessity! So leave the biscuits and cakes off your shopping list next week, pick up this album and spend the money on a ticket for when they play your locale.
Trevor Meehan
www.myspace.com/messiahjandtheexpert
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................