“When I blow up, I’m gonna go nuts,” Quentin Branch declares on “Stanley Kubrick,” a track from Angry Blackmen’s The Legend of Abm. The Chicago-based experimental hip-hop duo’s beats are distorted and dissonant, with traces of industrial-rock influence paired with a punk-tinged aggression. This contrast in sounds is mirrored by their vocal styles: Brian Warren offers a melodic touch, rapping in a quick sing-song manner with few pauses, while Branch leans toward more straightforward shouting.
Angry Blackmen’s dedication to this mode of uneasy listening is uncompromising throughout. The album’s production is enveloping, with sharp changes of dynamics and sustained, ominous electronics. “Fna” opens with blown-out 808s, while “Dead Men Tell No Lies” ends on the repeated title phrase, filtered so it barely even sounds like a human voice.
The Legend of Abm finds Branch and Warren examining their professional ambition on tracks like “Grind.” Lyrics...
Angry Blackmen’s dedication to this mode of uneasy listening is uncompromising throughout. The album’s production is enveloping, with sharp changes of dynamics and sustained, ominous electronics. “Fna” opens with blown-out 808s, while “Dead Men Tell No Lies” ends on the repeated title phrase, filtered so it barely even sounds like a human voice.
The Legend of Abm finds Branch and Warren examining their professional ambition on tracks like “Grind.” Lyrics...
- 1/22/2024
- by Steve Erickson
- Slant Magazine
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