Friday 22 August 2008

'Even Out' - Lazy Habits (single review)

'Even Out' is like nothing else you'll have heard so far this year, if ever, that is. Look at the picture. Lazy Habits, despite resembling an irish folk band with a basketball player, are more Hip Hop than a Flavor Flav clock.

Lazy Habits are a live band who count amongst their ranks a beatboxer, DJ, 2 MC's and a brass section. Now most heads right now will be thinking 'I know, they must be like The Roots'. Not so. Well, they are a live Hip Hop band but the comparisons begin and end there.

'Even Out' is a breezy, jaunty brass soaked jazz hand inducing trip inside the real story behind the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme. MC Skin Horse weaves a sordid tale of infidelity, drug peddling and general waywardness that culminates in Jack's murder at the hands of Jill - but all in the lightest possible manner you must understand. Imagine, if you will, a more british Slick Rick rhyming over the Daptones and you'll have some idea of what to expect from 'Even Out'.

'Please People', their last single is worth a mention too. The horns are working on Mexican time here and most of the band take a back seat here whilst percussion carves a samba groove and DJ Itchi scratches. Lazy and Skin Horse rap in tune to the horn stabs and let loose with some wordplay type rhymes.

These two tracks are available to you from the usual places like itunes and Tunetribe and can be heard in my new player to the right.

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