The review roundtable will be myself, Kaiju and Xoc. We will rotate each review with one of us doing a detailed track by track and the other 2 providing general thoughts and an overall rating.
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The Thought Criminals – Cold Winter
Kincade:
The thought Criminals LP appeared on the front page of NN with little fanfare and few enough comments that I certainly didn’t notice it. This LP only came to my attention when a few people kept mentioning it as one of their favourite releases of the year.
A Google search suggests these guys are only the 3rd most famous group known as “The Thought Criminals” behind the influential 80’s punk group the Thought Criminals and South London’s dirty electro Thought Criminals (This could be a bit of a problem going forward…).
The Nerdcore Thought Criminals consist of rappers/vocalists Khill and Sulfur and a full live band. I am assuming Khill is the rapper that kicks off the opener. If I have that backwards I apologize…Let’s get to the track by track
1. Came to Play Some Jams
Cold Winter opens with low-fi showgaze-ish rif***e as Khill grabs the mic and immediately impresses with his varied flow and appealing delivery. As keyboards are added to our audio smorgasbord, it becomes clear we are definitely not listening to the same old shit…The Thought Criminals present an impressive hybrid of Hiphop, low-fi, stoner rock and Chiptunes 7.5/10
2. I Remember Now
Roars out of the gate with a superlative hook. I could listen to Khill rap all day. Sulfur I can’t get into nearly as much. I dislike the way he over emphasizes some words and syllables. This gets particularly annoying on repeat listens. His flow is fine and stuff but after the standard Khill establishes early - there is a noticeable drop-off whenever he stops. This is seriously one of the best hooks I have ever heard on NN/RT 8.5/10
3. Return of the Antagonist (Featuring Stevie D of the Illbotz)
I guess that was Stevie D on the opening verse, he was fine and we are immediately thrust into another clever hook. “I remember now” showed us TTC can bang out an awesome and complex hook “Return” shows a different skill, that of the immediate sing-along, simple hook. Sulfur’s flow on this one is sick. Banger 8.5/10
4. Warp Zone (1-2)
I remember this from the NN compilation. It didn’t do much for me at the time but placed in the context of this album its charms become more readily apparent. Sulfur has a cool sounding Southern accent but this random over-emphasing bothers me somewhat. “Dive straight in” becomes “Dive straight eee-uhhhhn”. Nevertheless the man can flow. Musically this beat is incredible but the different elements are not as clear in the mix as they could be. That bass note on piano should make my ribcage rattle with bottom end but doesn’t quite pack the wallop it should. The songwriting is an A+, I know this is deliberately low-fi but making certain elements crisper would add a nice contrast. 7.5/10
5. All The Coins (Featuring Int80 of Dual Core)
Sulfur’s opening has some of that Beefy style I AM A VOICE ACTOR who EN-NUN-CI-ATES thing going and makes me squirm a little. Khill jumps in with completely effortless swagger. I have no idea what his skin color is but his raps are colored golden. Now Sulfur demonstrates his machine gun flow which I like quite a bit. Int 80 is solid. I am thinking Khill’s plan here was to have many of the more famous NC rappers appear on his album and then proceed to outrap them all (except maybe Random). Again the songwriting is brilliant with that melodic shift in the hook being a stroke of minor genius. 8.5/10
6. Whirling Dervish
Same criticism as before with Sulfur, when he’s rapping fast he is excellent, when he slows down he wants to put odd emphasis where it’s not needed. Nice sung hook but I find myself skipping this one most times through 7/10
7. You're Gonna Miss Me
The disc gets a little bogged down in vaguely Everlast-ish mid-tempo tracks at this point after the absolutely scorching first half. Another nice track with a shout along chorus 7.5/10
8. Liquid Happy
This one doesn’t do much for me until Khill’s comical drunken verse halfway through. That’s fun. 6/10
9. Our Time (Featuring Beefy)
After the 4th mid tempo track in a row I’m thinking spacing them out more through the disc might have been a good idea. This track feels strangely sleepy and uninspired but is pleasant enough 7/10
10. Earthbound (Featuring Adam WarRock and Random)
Not sure if that is Sulfur or Adam WarRock on the first verse but I’m not feeling it. 2nd guy is tight. Pretty nifty hook which is obviously a strength for the Thought Criminals. Ran doesn’t sound like he’s mixed right or is on a cheap mic for some reason. Nice closer 7.5/10
I’m looking for the right metaphor here but our 2 rappers are like 2 girls you brought home for a 3some… The first (Sulfur) is fine and normally you would be happy just to get laid (or hear someone that can flow) but the 2nd chick (Khill) is so friggen hot that you cant wait for the first girl to just shut up and roll over so you can have more quality time with the hot one…ya that’s a pretty fucked up metaphor but I think it accurately portrays my experience listening to this album, even if that’s a bit unfair to Sulfur as a lot of guys would sound inferior next to Khill. Overall there are some genius level moments with the writing, beats and hooks and just a few rough edges as well. Spacing out the slower tracks would have helped the 2nd half to not feel like it was on purple drank compared to the energy of the first 5 tracks. Overall I recommend you all buy this album and I’m more then happy to be known as a Thought Criminals fan
Kaiju:
When I first listened to this album I was turned off by the low-fi sound, as I am production nazi and if something doesn’t sound crisp I usually disregard it. I know this is the sound they are going for though and it grew on me. The low-fi sound really does work well for them and I wouldn’t want them any other way. This album is full of great songs and provides a unique sound that really separates them from other groups. The Thought Criminals are hook geniuses and always have great beats to accompany. I will have to agree with Kincade, in that, Khill is the more pleasing rapper to listen to most of the time. He has a great talent in changing up rhymes schemes while always remaining very smooth and on point. With that said, Sulfur is by no means a slouch. He holds his own and would really stand out if he was rapping with most anyone else besides Khill. Either way they are a great duo and they managed to get some very impressive collabs that really round out the album. My only real big gripe is one that Kincade also brought up, they should have arranged tracks differently to keep the energy of the album flowing throughout. Regardless, I would for sure recommend this album to everyone, you will not regret it and if you do I will personally mow your lawn.
Kaiju’s Overall Score - 8/10
Xoc:
Pretty impressed with this. Flows were on point. Production was beyond dope. Most of the hooks are catchy as well. I never listened to anything from Thought Criminals, besides that one track on the NN comp. I thought it was decent at the time. This whole album sounds pro. Lots of standout tracks. From the beginning of this album, I was intrigued by the combination of flow, cadence, instrumentation and songwriting skill. This is a craft that has been honed. Not knowing their history (I can look it up, I know!), it seems like they've been at this a while. Not sure exactly who's who at times, but I can't say one outshone the other like Kincade said. The elongated vocal inflections didn't bother me as much, but then again, I've been called sing songy for some of my inflections. Lol. By Kincade no less. ;-)
These guys seem to border both nerdcore and the hardcore. Instrumentation brings the dark menace at times and the contrast between the two lyricists styles keep you listening. The variations in flows between songs is pretty impressive. Never once did I think any of the songs sounded too same-y. That bluesy track (whirley dervish) stands testament to that. Love that track. Dope!
p.s. I did bother to listen. Lol
This album is a must listen for all of y'all and make sure to listen a few times. Give it a chance to grow on you. You'll be glad you did.
Xoc's overall score: 8/10
Bonus content - Still Standing EP Review
Kincade:
Why not tack on the 5 songs from the EP onto your freshly downloaded disc as well?
1. Radical Ish
Urgent guitars, chiptune keys and Khill’s strong delivery make this a dope track. I would have preferred to hear this on the LP to “Warp zone”. Absolutely nothing to fault here so 9/10
2. Warp Zone
Slightly worse mix of the track. See above 7.5/10
3. We
Well this is different…there’s something a little atonal in the singing, not sure if that was intentional or not…not really my cup of tea 6.5/10
4. Roll for Initiative
Killer opening couplet and I’m feeling the dirty-funk vibe of the beat. The “rock shit” hook is probably TTC’s weakest hook to date but it is more then made up for by the creative baroque/8-Bit instrumental section that follows 8/10
5. God vs Playstation
Spoken word epic. My only complaint is one of the backing harmony tracks is especially nasal and could have done with lowering in the mix. Shows TTC have some depth and are not just a party band - well done 8/10
Next Review Rountable - Benjamin Bear - Tuesday
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Originally Posted by Klopfenpop
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