Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angles

by Jon Drake

Seconds out...

"Sandwiched between second single 'The Beat That My Heart Skipped' and 'Thou Shalt....' is a collection of work more varied than expected. They call on hip hop, dance, political and poetic influences that show them to be more than just one-trick ponies."

When Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip first got together and recorded 'Thou Shalt Always Kill' they knew that they were on a slippery slope. When performing it live at Reading last year they declared it their one hit wonder. And that was the big question mark above that song. Did these two lads from London have it in them to produce anything that would not be dwarfed by their first release?

The answer to that question arrives in the form of Angles, their second full-length. Sandwiched between second single 'The Beat That My Heart Skipped' and 'Thou Shalt....' is a collection of work more varied than expected. They call on hip hop, dance, political and poetic influences that show them to be more than just one-trick ponies.

The beats created by Dan Le Sac are impressive. At a time when it is becoming harder and harder to come up with original and decent electronica, the duo sound like nothing else out there. He uses the least likely of samples and constructs intriguing journeys for the listener. Be it using Radiohead on 'Letter To Man From God' or just messing with the melody enough on 'Magician's Assistant' to make it sound like a broken music box the quality on show is impressive.

Lyrically the content is on form too. Scroobius' ability to tell moving, funny stories with morals to them without sounding preachy makes the messages hit home slightly harder. His stories can make you chuckle like when he raps the periodic table on 'Development' or they can bring you down like 'Look For The Woman' or the powerful 'Magician's Assistant'. There are also touching sentiments like 'Tommy', the tribute to comedian Tommy Cooper.

One thing which may displease some listeners is the choice to re-record the vocal on 'Thou Shalt Always Kill'. Scroobius actually asks "Why've we bothered to re-record this vocal?" between verses. But that is still a testament to how much fun this album is that they've done things quite so tongue-in-cheek.

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