This Berlin act's debut full length for the so-called "digi hop" label Meta Polyp astoundingly manages to simultaneously impress and tragically disappoint, making for a truly uneven listening experience all around.

 

Meta Polyp

Their tightly produced beats and futuristically urban atmospheres are marred by an unfortunate selection of mostly lackluster emcees like Rqm and Maxx, whose respective flows recall everything I hate about "indie" hip hop.  Exceptions to this rule are Ras T-Weed's sublime and subdued delivery on the jagged "Blessed" and "Corridors of Power," the latter featuring Neonman doing his best Shaun Ryder impression over a funktastic bassline and speaker rumbling beat.  Rider Shafique's notable input on "Rising Tides" nearly distracts from the aforementioned Rqm's unimpressive contribution to this otherwise well executed darkly dubby dancehall cut.  I would've probably enjoyed this album far more had Tolcha taken the Jamaican ascetic aesthetic to heart and rinsed most if not all of the vocals from the mix.  Perhaps an instrumental version is in order.