Caxton Press - Shame The Devil Album Review
As a debut Shame the Devil demonstrates how great Caxton Press could be.
rating: 3.5
Website: www.caxtonpresshiphop.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/caxtonpress
Release Date: 8th May Charlie Chaplin isnt a figure youd usually associate with talking let alone hip-hop music yet here the final speech from his 1940 comedy film The Great Dictator (mocking Hitler and the Nazis no less) is re-captured by new British group Caxton Press as a call-to-arms outro for the masses to stand up and take note. Enter Shame the Devil, the bands debut LP - a myriad of cultural and literary references, old-school rapping and the whole spectrum of sampling and production courtesy of Profound. The quartet of rappers (Kingpin, Amy True, eMCee Killa & Manage) plus live show DJ Snuff each boast impressive bios, ranging from performing at BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale Studios to touring worldwide to singing for Barack Obamas stepmother (rather than his Uncle or his cousin twice removed obviously), and with a band name derived from the first man thought to have introduced the printing press to Britain it seems Caxton Press are aiming for revolutionary. As far as album intros go, Shame the Devils is a bit of a loose cog in the machine. Also dubbed Heart of a Lion we get latino-esque guitars (somewhere between a watered-down Anna Calvi and the backing music on those Dynasty Warriors games I used to play) and Amy Trues R&B vocals pleasantly Oooh-ing along in in between a tale of a heroic male with, errr, the heart of a lion. Its nothing ground-breaking and perhaps not the best way to introduce a band with much more creativity under their sleeves. Track 2, on the other hand, is a true explosion out of the gates. Runnin sounds like a British grime version of Kanye Wests Through The Wire, all squeaky voiced soul samples, with a great mix of humour (Kingpins runnin through the pain like hes Paula Radcliffe apparently), angst and reality giving each rapper a chance to smash it, which they all do. Its incredibly old-school hip-hop and so funk-laden that it hurts, in the best way possible. Wu Tang Clan and De La Soul popped up frequently in the bands bios and their influence is definitely apparent in the 90s hip-hop style. http://youtu.be/S5_N47p6f-8 The next few songs keep the standard high whilst demonstrating the diverse soundscapes the group can produce. The Original could be off a modern British film noir soundtrack with a repetitive piano/drum roll backline brooding up the life experiences the group relate whilst scratchy audio breaks keep it sounding fresh. The Press the bands self-proclaimed mantra, with its actual printing press sound-bites and menacing piano sounding harpsichord-esque, is a confident stance of attack which is successfully segued into The Breakout (which has undercurrents of KanyeWests Diamonds from Sierra Leone and Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood in my mind). The real standout for me was Ones Up a twirling, earthy baroque-inflected piece of medieval rap with ghostly chamber voices and a gorgeous flute sample; Caxton Press at their most melodic but bitingly fierce. Oh and the TS Eliot The Wasteland conclusion was absolute perfection in the ears of this English Literature-studying listener. http://youtu.be/u9qaSBc9pTg The issues with the album appear largely due to the sheer amount of songs by the end some of the sonic and lyrical ideas that seemed amazing early on bore quite quickly due to sheer repetition. Rally Up is too close in pace and style to The Original to be put next to its neighbour on the track-listing, Just Wont Stop is basically Ones Up just with a male choral voice and none of the flute or aural aesthetic that made that stand-out and The Calling, Why and I Wanna See (whilst they all feature sound lyrics and delivery) end up either blurring into one another or just making me think Hmm, youve done this better before. The Maverick Sabre featured track Lionhearts was one I was looking forward to, being a fan of his output, but ended up being a little underwhelming considering the talent and potential there. Also it would have be great to hear a little more of Amy True who is vastly underused across the album and potentially would have added another dimension to some of the lesser tracks. The rapping and delivery on this album I cannot fault only the repetition lessens some of the messages they want to convey. All the members of the group are clearly talented and it is nice to hear rap music using its brain and relaying distinct issues rather than how many rides yall own and Shawty, how dope is diz club etc. etc. As a debut Shame the Devil demonstrates how great Caxton Press could be; literary stimuli and their ability to conjure up specific soundscapes are traits they should definitely harness for album number two but theres still plenty of work to be done - this isnt the finished revolutionary machine quite yet.