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REVIEW: Rockfresh - 'Superimposed Headphones'
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 22nd May 2013 | Alex
Rockfresh sell clothes and make music. The clothes are cool; the music is definitely worth a listen!
Naturally, being as entrenched in hip hop culture as Rockfresh are, the next step would be bringing out your own thing. It’s a massive task they undertake: ‘Superimposed Headphones’ tries ardently to marry our music with the older American stuff, and it’s a decent effort. Really though, they need to work on the distressing lyricism and further the assorted sampling hip hop prides itself on organising.
Most of it’s pretty cool, I’d definitely give it a listen here. ‘All Aboard’ is a suitable opener, swapping between groove and astringency where it needs to. There’s an obvious respect for the craft here; choruses don’t serve as distraction from lackluster lyrics, a feature of ‘mainstream’ hip hop that Rockfresh would certainly want to avoid. Rather, they act as stress-relievers and balance dynamics. There’s a bunch of remarkable features too – Soulstice, anyone? What’s more, we get an impressive mix of taut delivery (strictly UK) and the ‘soulful loop choppy kick’ sound that America won’t leave alone.
But that's nothing compared to when their enthusiasm catches hold. ‘Rockfresh Pt 2’, only originally intended as a promotional single, is a standout. It’s thick and heavyweight, offering us a boost where the ‘paper round’ song couldn’t. Once you hear ‘Superimposed Headphones’ at its best it all starts to come together. It’s a heartfelt effort, and I’m sure I heard a KRS-One sample in there somewhere. There’s an abundance of old-school scratching, and if you focus on that it’s difficult not to get onboard.
Written by Alex Dean - @AlexDean94
