| Curse Ov Dialect offer up Wooden Tongues (Mush), and how do I describe this? If you liked The Avalanches' Since I Left You for its carefully selected samples, but wished the hip-hop references was more evident, you're almost there. If the references were made more evident by some Australian rappers, would you be moved to buy this? I hope so, because this isn't a group who find a good part of a song, loop it forever and take the listener on a journey by pressing "cruise control". No, this is bumpy, lumpy, and not grumpy. Will you accept the challenge? The members of Curves Ov Dialect all have diverse backgrounds, which not only includes different ethnic foundations but also very unique record collections. Together, they bring together a very different hip-hop mixture that really should be in the forefront. "Saturday Night" could easily be one of a thousand songs about going into the club, but in this case it's about looking at the world with a frustrated mindstate. "Take Me To The Arab World", which could easily be something stolen from the Diplo archives, involves a voyage into the land of the unknown while embracing the familiarity of a female voice and unusual flutes which could morph into the sound of a video game at any given time. Upon first listen everything sounds out of place and abstract, but take it in with various increased dosages and one realizes that these guys are supposed to sound like this. If the guys in cLOUDDEAD/Reaching Quiet decided to stay in London or Sydney for six months while being exposed to the best and worst of each city, they would rupture their own bladders and end up making music that is quite refreshing to hear. I did say "music" because while some argue that a lot of modern hip-hop is anything but musical, Curse Ov Dialect actually offer a bit of musical sense, logic, and knowledge that makes them exceptional and different from the norm. I enjoyed it because it seems these guys were willing to throw various influences, sounds, and dialects in a blender, and said "alright, now let's assemble this. Physically the pieces of the puzzle may not fit, but aurally anything is about. If anything, listening to Wooden Tongues will make you feel as if it's "not here", but in another part of the world that's too far to travel to. By opening up the album's musical world, you hear something that may be strange and yet familiar at the same time. Now you're here, you're home. Welcome them in and make them feel at home. - Music For America |
