Matt Brew - 8/25/2012

Stereo Typical- Rizzlekicks

The Brighton duo that are Rizzlekicks are all about cheeky & likeable fun; a theme that is prominent throughout their new album "Stereo Typical." With wacky lyrics and beats that help the album successfully jump from themes like a charmingly nostalgic reminiscence of childhood to a catchy tune about trumpets, it showcases all of the duo's like-ability and skill.

We begin with a very hip-hop influenced "Dreamers" providing a very catchy head-bob with an excellent synthesised supporting rhythm and a steady drum beat, helped by some impressive studio effects and inspiring lyrics; "going to take myself to the moon in my dreams" speaking of the duo's aspirations in the pop world. The album progresses with the same theme of aspirations with the well known hit "When I was a youngster" and just when you feel yourself settling down into the album an atonal accordion rhythm pops out of nowhere; "round up" provides a complete mood shift with a "player" feel to it that speaks wonders of the pair's fun loving attitude, especially when trumpets appear out of nowhere completely out of place but manage to work,with a fast paced drum accompaniment and a well sung chorus that reverberated around my head for a good few hours.

This pattern of mood shift carries throughout the album, always keeping the listener on their toes; packing some popular hits like "Down with the trumpets" & "Mama do the hump" to assure sales and provide some familiar beats. I picked out particular favourites throughout the CD, like the controversial "Miss Cigarette" providing a very clever metaphor for smoking. The slide from the melancholy "Travellers Chant" to the angrier more upbeat "Stop With The Chatter" I also think is done very well; with the latter proving the albums parental advisory rating thanks to it's excessive shock swearing.

Overall this fun mix of old skool hip-hop and more modern pop was a great listen, providing may catchy beats and great lyrics. The mood shifts that occur so frequently have the album jumping all over the place never really being able to decide what it wants to be. Seen in it's tendency to suffer from repetition in tracks like "Prophet." However it more than makes up for this with the skill of the studio effects, squeaky records and variety of instruments from accordion to trumpet. The album's light-hearted attitude carries it through it's flaws and provides a good listen; with the stand out track being "Mama Do The Hump" which personally I think is the most catchy & well written of the lot.