Sunday 14 March 2010

Review - Castrovalva - We Are A Unit

Castrovalva - We Are A Unit

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8 out of 10

'This is for c*unt who's at the back. . .' After hearing this, I assume the said C-U-Next-Tuesday dissolved into a pool of his own fear. Castrovalva are clearly not for the faint of anything; heart, mind, body, whatever. Musically we're in Lightning Bolt territory but with added funk and stomp (Thuglife, for example, where the fist-slamming bass riff winds down into a synthoid crush that Cypress Hill would love to have done). The other ingredient is Leemun Smith's face-melting vocal style, which clamps down, chews up and shits out Yow, Axl Rose and Rollins, amongst anyone else.

As a British band molesting hip-hop, there are moments where the listener is left wondering whether they're not taking the pistol. 'Motherfucking Castrovalva on your ass' from Unit Radio is an example and do they really shout 'I pooed on your clothesline' in Hooliganz R Us? No matter - that's the smallest of niggles. Prepare for an aural enema.

Listen: www.myspace.com/castrovalvamusic

Tracklist:
1. We Are A Unit (Intro)
2. Pump Pump
3. That's What I'm Talking About
4. Thuglife
5. Unit Radio
6. We Don't Go To Ravenholm
7. Hooliganz R Us
8. You Better Make That Money
9. Outlawz
10. Bison Scissor Kick
11. Triceratops
12. We Are A Unit (Outro)

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