| From Down Under comes the hip-hop collective Curse ov Dialect, made up of Australians of varying ethnicities (European, Asian and Aboriginal). Due to their thick Australian accents and their frequent use of what may be an Aboriginal dialect, most of the group's lyrics are nearly indecipherable. However it seems as if they are quite upset about several things, including racism, sexism, social injustice, politics, the ecology and the destruction of the Aboriginal culture by European settlers. They also don't appear to have much respect for the members of the Australian Parliament, the Queen of England or anyone else they consider oppressors. Or perhaps the whole CD is about beer and women with the occasional understandable political or social comment thrown in for effect. And, frankly, it really makes no difference. Lost in the Real Sky sounds good. The music varies from straight-ahead hip-hop beats to free-form jazz stylings to English folk to rock, with bells, whistles, horns, percussion and various noises of indeterminate origin thrown in the mix. The lead track, "Baby How?" is either a love song or a political rant. "Wolf Moon" may be about the ecology or perhaps about running naked through the Outback. I have absolutely no idea what "Vertical Ascension" is about, but it's a great dance groove. On "Munro" several voices mumble about something over a rock-guitar riff and a bass-and-drum beat. "The Fall of Houlihan" plays a broadcast of either a soccer, rugby or Australian football match over a heavy drum-and-bass groove. "Upside Down Frowns" is either a plea for optimism or a very sarcastic swipe at optimists. What it comes down to is that Curse ov Dialect are fun to listen to and Lost in the Real Sky is a funky, fun and loose CD, even if you haven't the slightest idea what is being said. - Tucson Citizen |
2XLP/Out Of Print