21 Nov 2024
Evil Mule - Remnants of a Lost Science Album Review
27 Nov 2012 // A review by Alistar3000
A while ago I got to review Evil Mule’s 2008 debut album P-Hood Prophecies. At the time I recall having pretty low expectations for the album yet being completely blown away by how fresh it sounded. There was no posturing, no trying to mimic American or commercial hip hop, and they had some great rhymes and an interesting style. Since then I’ve seen them perform live and had my opinion of their talent reinforced.
Now they’ve released Remnants of a Lost Science, their follow up to P-Hood Prophecies, and while it continues in much the same vein as their debut, the Wellington trio (and friends) has managed to exceed their original effort this time around.
They’ve stuck with the same subject matter throughout the new album, so expect plenty of songs about smoking weed, lounging about getting drunk, and generally being a mule (someone who lives life their way, or something along those lines). The notable exception to the theme is Repos, a dedication to Raymond Piper who was murdered in 2010. The delivery through the whole album is spot on, the beats well-produced and matched perfectly to the MC-ing, in fact the whole album is well produced and sounds great. At times it almost comes across as a NZ version of early Cypress Hill, back before they took themselves too seriously (making this album Evil Mule’s Black Sunday I guess).
After a few listens I’m yet to find anything I don’t like about the album; it beats everything I’ve heard come out in local mainstream hip hop this year. The unfortunate (and somewhat worrying) thing is that these guys may never make it to the mainstream, due largely to the nature of the commercial music industry, and so won’t get the exposure that they rightfully deserve; not something a true mule would worry about too much anyway.
A while ago I got to review Evil Mule’s 2008 debut album P-Hood Prophecies. At the time I recall having pretty low expectations for the album yet being completely blown away by how fresh it sounded. There was no posturing, no trying to mimic American or commercial hip hop, and they had some great rhymes and an interesting style. Since then I’ve seen them perform live and had my opinion of their talent reinforced.
Now they’ve released Remnants of a Lost Science, their follow up to P-Hood Prophecies, and while it continues in much the same vein as their debut, the Wellington trio (and friends) has managed to exceed their original effort this time around.
They’ve stuck with the same subject matter throughout the new album, so expect plenty of songs about smoking weed, lounging about getting drunk, and generally being a mule (someone who lives life their way, or something along those lines). The notable exception to the theme is Repos, a dedication to Raymond Piper who was murdered in 2010. The delivery through the whole album is spot on, the beats well-produced and matched perfectly to the MC-ing, in fact the whole album is well produced and sounds great. At times it almost comes across as a NZ version of early Cypress Hill, back before they took themselves too seriously (making this album Evil Mule’s Black Sunday I guess).
After a few listens I’m yet to find anything I don’t like about the album; it beats everything I’ve heard come out in local mainstream hip hop this year. The unfortunate (and somewhat worrying) thing is that these guys may never make it to the mainstream, due largely to the nature of the commercial music industry, and so won’t get the exposure that they rightfully deserve; not something a true mule would worry about too much anyway.
Other Reviews By Alistar3000
Primacy - Single Review: Shade Black
15 Oct 2015 // by Alistar3000
Auckland 5-piece Primacy are one of those bands that don’t try and hide their influences; their new single Shade Black is a healthy blend of all that was good about ‘90s rock, and that’s not a bad thing. Starting out with a Tool-like intro that soon gives way to a heavier, chugging riff, the song maintains a freshness and urgency throughout.
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Cairo Knife Fight - Album review: The Colossus
11 Jun 2015 // by Alistar3000
Having seen Cairo Knife Fight perform live many times over the past few years I’d always been under the assumption they were performing songs from a number of prior recordings. So I was a little surprised to discover that The Colossus was actually their first album (they do have a few EPs recorded), and more surprised to find that long time guitarist Aaron Tokona (AHoriBuzz) was no longer a key part of the band, and makes only a small appearance on the album – with that revelation I didn’t know what to expect when I pressed play.
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Mel Parsons - Album Review: Drylands
05 May 2015 // by Alistar3000
Back in 2011 I reviewed Mel Parsons' second album Red Grey Blue and enjoyed it – it had some well written songs, was well produced, and was easy to listen to. When I first popped in her latest album Drylands, I thought she’d taken a bit of a different path to the alt-country that dominated her first album.
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Album Review: Tahuna Breaks Live 10
02 Apr 2015 // by Alistar3000
It’s hard to believe that Tahuna Breaks is celebrating 10 years making music together, although they do seem to have always been around, and I guess if anyone’s going to be keeping a record of how long they’ve been making their brand of funkified reggae, it’d be them. To celebrate the occasion they’ve release Tahuna Breaks Live 10 – 10 tracks spanning their career, recorded live last year at a one-off concert to celebrate the milestone (so I guess the album should actually be called 10 + 6 months).
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State Of Mind - EP Review: Until The World Ends
12 Feb 2015 // by Alistar3000
Auckland drum and bass duo State of Mind are no strangers to collaboration, having worked with the likes of Tiki Taane and PNC to craft some big hitting tracks that achieved a lot of airplay. This time round they’re working with the trio from Black Sun Empire, hailing out of the Netherlands, produce the heavy hitting Until The World Ends EP together.
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Album Review: Latinaotearoa in Latinoamerica
09 Dec 2014 // by Alistar3000
When I started reading about the concept behind the second Latinaotearoa album it sounded like a good idea and I was quite excited to have a listen to it. If you’re not familiar with the story, Auckland musician Isaac Aesili (Solaa, Opensouls, Eru Dangerspiel, Funkommunity) teamed up once again with Venezualan singer Jennifer Zea, and Brazilian-born DJ Bobby Brazuka, to research and write a bunch of songs in Brazil, then record the album of Latin-influenced tunes in Brazil and Auckland with guest appearances by some great musicians (such as Raiza Biza, Julien Dyne, Riki Gooch and Miguel Fuentes) – what should, on paper, lead to some great experimentation and crossovers of styles.
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Beastwars Live at San Fran, Wellington 10/10/2014
21 Oct 2014 // by Alistar3000
I was finding it hard to believe that it’d been over 18 months since I last saw Beastwars play in Wellington as I stumbled on down to the newly refurbished San Fran in Wellington last week. I’m not sure why it’d taken me so long to go back to Wellington’s number one metal (or at least heavy rock) band, especially since they’d never disappointed me before.
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Into Orbit - Caverns Album Review
24 Aug 2014 // by Alistar3000
Wellington two piece noisemakers Into Orbit have an appropriate name for the kind of music they’ve created on their new album Caverns; it’s spacey feeling, often out there and is sure to take off. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from the album before listening to it (or even if I’d like it at all), but came away a devoted fan after having it on constant repeat for a couple of days while I explored everything it had to offer (I’m still not there yet, not even close).
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