Straight out of upstate New York are , a four-piece hip hop band whose ethos is true musicianship and live instrumentation rather than looped-up samples and souped-up beats.
The Papercut Chronicles is a nice collection of tracks with rolling guitar rhythms, head-nodding basslines and lyrics that, albeit pretty simple, carry a real, contemporary meaning. Petrified And The Twice Told Joke (Decrepit Bricks), for example, is nothing short of tear-jerking with it’s woe-filled flow and downtempo beats. The guitar serves to add a moving and melodic yet sorrowful wail to this accomplished piece of music. It’s hardly surprising that such an adept band have won warm-up slots for artists as diverse as Mobb Deep, Jurassic 5 and Run DMC.
A couple of listens is enough to be humming along to each of the records which all have in common a confident, streetwise savvy with an injection of indie sensibility but are each memorable in their own way. Fans of Automato will love this as it’s very much in the same vain but likewise,
The Papercut Chronicles should be an essential purchase for all tuneful hip-hop devotees the world over. Exciting stuff.
Rating: 5/5
Link: www.gymclassheroes.com
Words by: Sarah Chapman
