'The Bury All' - Mr Loop (album review)

Mr Loop’s ‘The Bury All’ is the second release from Sweatbox Sounds, a label shaping up to be one that only brings quality to the crowded table of UK Hip Hop. So far their less-is-more approach suits me to a T; 40 minutes is a perfect length for an album. You still get 11 tracks of goodness wrapped in great artwork so let’s explore it more:

Mr Loop is the producer and he’s brought along a truck load of guest artists for the ride; no less than 15 (including Wordsmith and Mudmowth) if my counting skills are up to scratch. A few appear multiple times – Zoo Mark and Slippa of RapSkallions and Yosh all hold down multiple mic duties.

Mr Loop’s production is wide-ranging, his sample pool is wide and deep – he steals from medieval England’s lute-strumming bards, slices up whole orchestras, mugs jazz bassists for their dusty low frequency goodness, sneaks easy listening breaks from under relaxed musicians noses and swipes 60’s pop and all for his own gain – and yours. This CD really is a treat – the sounds are so diverse and so obviously the produce of a crate digging whiz kid.

The MCs offer a largely cheery body of work and things get rowdy on both parts of ‘Satisfaction’ as 13 MCs vie for mic time. Yosh, Slippa and Zoo Mark explore both sides of drinking to excess on ‘Out on the Razz’ and ‘the Middle Path’ and B’Tol’s Eva Lazarus assisted ‘Try Again’ is sure to allow you to sink into its gently ebbing waters. ‘The Infamous Baron Spittswell’ is made to have a video – although Yosh paints a more than vivid picture of this maverick character, this is a lyrical imagination at its best!

‘The Bury All’ will be out on 12th January 2009 on Sweatbox Sounds and will be available on CD (you can get one now direct from the man himself for £5) or as a digital download. Visit his myspace page for more info.