Tuesday, 28 April 2009

'D.Day' - Dialect (album review)

Being from the North East isn’t Dialect’s weak point, nor is it their gimmick – it’s what makes this album so refreshing. Their place of birth has driven them to create one of the most compelling Hip Hop albums I’ve listened to in a while. There’s none of the usual slang or superiority complex that make many other UK releases a little tedious. There are only brutally honest accounts of their real life. This album should definitely not be dismissed by non-locals.

This is one of those albums with which you can kick back with in order to really listen to it. There are autobiographical tracks in the form of the funky ‘Won’t Stop’, the slow burning ‘Quicksand’ and ‘I Woz ‘Ere’. There are anthems like Hip Hop versions of Kaiser Cheifs songs in the form of ‘The Landing’ and ‘Put It Down’ (just one of the tracks on which they really pull off the reggae ting). There are top quality collaborations such as ‘North and South’ with Ed Strong (of I.R.S.) and Mic Assassin, ‘Cerberus’ with Vast Aire, ‘War Games’ with fellow North Easters Text Offenders and ‘Grand Slam’ with Copywrite and Ru’ral – all of which have their own unique sound and style.

Production is mainly done in house by Peta Max although Chattabox contributes the instrumental for ‘I Woz ‘Ere’ and Sermstyle supplies beats on ‘No Guts No Glory’. The overall outlook of this album is a very positive one, certainly the music gives that feel even when the lyrics turn to the old Newcy Broon induced fighting talk or the back story of Rick Fury’s life. Check the secret track for beautiful production and a lovely guitar solo.

Despite being 17 tracks long and weighing in at 1.3 hours (whatever that means, thanks itunes for using unconventional units of time) this album is full of quality music, not just the same old, same old. It’s out soon on 1984 records, check back here for more details on its release date – it should do better than Sep's beloved team are doing right now.


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3 comments:

Baron Von Alias said...

nice one lads, shall be checking this out pronto! well done.

Baron Von Alias said...

just got hold of my copy via paypal, and it does not disappoint, got some class beats from peta max and of course those dialect boys are bang on form with some classic lines. congrats to all involved on a truely great album!

Admin said...

big up - nice review ;)