Customer Reviews

Prince Umberto & The Sister of Ill

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I have anxiously awaited the point where enough used copies were floating in the US so that I could get this for a non-import price. Well, it appears that it was well worth the wait, despite how this might effect the relevance of my critique.

I loved Printz, and while I would not call this a departure, they have clearly reached another plateu in their evolution, and I refuse to place all the credit with the new high-profile producer or the budget he indicates. If this ever gets a proper stateside release, then I see no reason why it would not trump the success of Printz.

Anyway, on to the meat of this review: I never hold out hope that any album will hit this many hot spots for me. It skitters around sub-genres like a mouse burrowing through the top shelf of my CD collection. Usually when an artist wears their influences on their sleeve to this extreme, they tend to go off the rails on at least one or two long-shots. That is not really what happens on this album at all. But, while I can't confidently say beyond the shadow of a doubt that they outdo Odelay or Check Your Head, there is no question that they CLEARLY continue the legacy of those albums in a way that aims to make the pioneers proud.

At one point or another all of the following artists come to mind: Beck, Beastie Boys (and Grand Royal as a whole), Mike Patton, Cibo Matto, Peaches, Lady Sovereign, Blur/Gorillaz, A.R.E Weapons, Spank Rock, Coco Rosie, and Avalanches. These comparisons all ring clear as a bell to me. Entire labels like Anticon, Tigerbeat6, and Mush (to name just a few) have spent nearly two decades pumping away at this same well of influences and yet somehow failing to get out of their own heads long enough to have this much fun.

As a child of the 90's, I too have trouble with rappers dropping verses that are not competitive. But, the 90's are over, and some of the artists who won the war for "most complex verses" are writing choruses that do not age well at all. So, while it takes me ten listens to unravel a great verse, it takes me five listens to be sick to death of the chorus. This dynamic is turned on it's ear by Bumblebeez on this release. They were out-of-the-loop being holed away in Australia so long prior to their first release, that it gives them a plethora of artistic license. They don't have to meet the standards of New York hipsters from 20 years ago, and they are close enough to Britain to ride in the waves of Grime and Brit-pop-rock (IE: American indie's upper crust). So, they can capitalize on Golden-era hip-hop just as easily as they do the new wave of post-booty Miami beats (IE: Amanda Blank, Spank Rock, etc.).

So, while Bumblebeez may have stiff competition remaining in artists like M.I.A. and Santogold, their failure to narrow down their style to one train of thought has provided an ample smokescreen for them to stelthfully emerge on the scene at any point as a formidable opponent up against the one-trick-pony of any of the artists who influenced them.

I have kept a ton of CDs of groups that wish they were this cool, like Cex, Gold Chains, Bunny Rabbit, Princess Superstar...the list goes on for days of groups with this basic lo-fi hip-hop and experiemntal dance idea at heart, but who have completely failed to lighten-up and get their own egos out of the way long enough to allow the listener to have some fun. Bravo Bumblebeez! I hope your heros are watching, despite the delay in releasing this stateside.

This album is considerably different than the Bumblebeez first album. Whereas the beats are still incredibley infectious there seems to be a lot more background, almost unnecessary noise. The album as a whole works as a good listen, especially if your driving home late at night and need something to keep you alert and energized. The track "Zulu" is definitely my favorite, a fat fat beat with great lyrics and a funky piano. The fact that this album is so different than the first one is a good thing, it shows that the Prince of Umberto and the Sister of Ill are a versatile duo and I'm excited to hear their next bizzare creation.