No Pretense - Music Reviews

Harry Mcilroy  performance link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2MCATB75C8  Clipping. - live for no one during a global pandemic  genre - industrial hip hop, horror-core, noise, experimental  10/10 Clipping (stylised as Clipping.) are an experimental hip hop trio fronted by actor, rapper, and now Tony award winning Hamilton star, Daveed Diggs. That’s quite a resume, isn't it? And judging by the relatively family friendly tone of Hamilton itself, one could assume Daveed would continue to work within this niche.  But in reality, the sound and lyrical content of Clipping might make them the least family friendly group out there. More influenced by Public Enemy and Whitehouse than Broadway, Clipping is easily one of the most interesting and cutting edge groups making music right now. They are one of the few bands where “unique” isn't hyperbole. This group expertly and seamlessly explores the genres of both harsh noise and hardcore hip hop. The impressive, complex...

  Harry Mcilroy  Alias & Doseone - Less is Orchestra Genre - Alternative Hip Hop, IDM 9/10 Less is Orchestra was released right after ridiculously prolific underground producer Alias, whose career span over 20 years, sadly passed away in the March of 2018. He was a co-founder of Anticon, one of the best rap labels no ones ever heard of.  Alias and company came to prominence just around the massive rise in easy to access music production software, ranging from free applications like Garageband to any number of online beat sequencers. This all meant that the creativity hidden in any inspired person could suddenly and very easily be tapped into. The unfortunate downside of this unrelenting creativity and rejection of accessibility was that mainstream appreciation was always just out of the labels reach. Nowadays, you don’t hear a thing from this forgotten surrealistic art-rap music scene. And listening to this album, you do kind of get why. The unrelentingly complex, idm...