BBNG2

by BADBAD-NOTGOOD

One of the most exciting releases of the year for me was BBNG2, a free album put out by local boys BADBADNOTGOOD (you can get it here).

This band, which I first came across live opening for Aloe Blacc, but then later discovered that I had their first album in my ipod, defies easy description.  I guess they are a jazz trio, but they play from a place that marries hip-hop beats with a punk sensibility.  Live and recorded, these guys are beasts.

This album is eleven tracks deep (which, somehow, feels a little too long after the tenth), and is mostly made up of original material, and a Kanye West cover (Flashing Lights).  The band is at their best when they lull you into a safe space of meditative contemplation before going absolutely berserk on their instruments, such as they do a few times on 'Rotten Decay' and 'Bastard/Lemonade', my two favourite tracks.

These guys are beginning to get some love outside of the local community, backing Talib Kweli on the best track on The Man With The Iron Fists soundtrack (which is the only reason why I bought it).