Seth P. Brundel

Devil’s Pawn

(Aesthetics, 2004)

A few years ago I borrowed a 12” called “Movements” by Cyne. And on the second side? Obligatory remixes. But, two were by Seth P. Brundel. And finally he releases a solo album. Subtle innovations are copped by Monsieur Brundel, so the music doesn’t sound solely hip-hop related. It’s not a third stream, but it’s a tributary. The one complaint I have is that on every damned track there’s awful drum production. Any slight that I could possibly conceive of would not fully convey the horror that these drums visit upon me. Even with robo-drums, though, this album is warm, but not hot. The raps are above boards and the production comes close to being unique. Alotta politics fly from the mouth of Brundel, but really the most touching track comes in the form of the “Self P.” Disregarding the fact that this one’s an introspective downer, it stands out amongst the rest of this slab. I guess that there has to be a battle rap, and we get it on “Ego Fuel” – it’s typical faire. Some psychedelics, interestingly enough, show up with the references to The Doors and Floyd on “Absolute Power”. Included are enough backwards guitar to be interesting and not annoying. Good release overall, but ya’ll need to work on the packaging.

dälek

Gutter Tactics

(Ipecac, 2009)

Between Blu releasing Johnson and Jonson recently and Gutter Tactics arriving in my mailbox, I’ve had a good amount of the boom bap to get through. Luckily though, Gutter Tactics is as strong as any other Dälek

release thus far.

Beginning with a righteous screed by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, where he perhaps goes a bit over the top, the disc shapes up to be even more overtly political – or at least aware of the political nonsense that goes on around us everyday – than previous work. That doesn’t mean that every lyrical tidbit is agreeable, but at the very least dälek has obviously remained entranced by the social workings of the country since Abandoned Language.

One of the reasons that each of Dälek’s releases is so strong is because of the overall unity of each track production wise. While occasionally, listener’s can loose track of what song their listening to or even which of the duo’s discs they have in the cd player, that kind of forethought and planning serves the group well. But also, that disallows stand out tracks in the same way that other release may feature them.

A rarity though on “A Collection of Miserable Thoughts Laced with Wit,” is the laid back beat that crops up. There still isn’t a real melody, but an assortment of jangled instruments and swelling drones is a welcome break in the often abrasive music that Dälek features. On this particular track, dälek’s voice is set deep in the mix, as if he’s telling you something from the next room. But the relaxed and relatively quiet musical setting properly accompanies his witty thoughts.

There’s no place to find fault with Gutter Tactics. And while it’s not perfect, it’s another step forward for the group, for hip hop and hopefully visibility for an act that has of yet to be generally embraced by the rap cognoscenti.