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Hilltop HoodsThe Hard Road Obese Whilst 'The Calling' was the Hilltop Hoods' third album and came along after they'd been kicking it for 10 years, it was the one that brought them into the hearts and homes of the Australian music listener. 'The Hard Road' sees a much more introspective look at the world and a refinement in the trio's sound, and comes off as the better album. Recapturing The Vibe begins proceedings with a typical Hilltop throwdown lyric and a subdued, refined backing track. This spirit continues on the title track, as well as Conversations From a Speak Easy which give off a mature and intelligent vibe, reminiscent of Guru's 'Jazzmatazz'.I've always been a fan of Suffa's production but here it's truly outstanding, gelling wonderfully with Debris' scratches and samples. The introspection continues on tracks like Stopping All Stations, a brilliant anecdote of a ride on Adelaide's train system, the revealing Breathe and City Of Light, a beautiful retrospective of the 'Hood's life in Adelaide that's as touching as the Beastie Boys' An Open Letter To NYC as they reminisce about riding with writers and busting rhymes to boom boxes in the early '90s. Lyrically their dissing of notable political figures occurs throughout the whole album (most notably on Obese Lowlifes), mixed with simple and adroit observations of where humanity is headed, as in An Audience With The Devil. This is not to say the Hoods have gotten all serious on us: What A Great Night has a wickedly funny chant celebrating the best alcohol has to offer and the single Clown Prince is a bouncy party hip-hop anthem that goes off as much live as in the living room. During Circuit Breaker the sampled phone machine messages are laugh-out-loud funny, as is Suffa and Pressure's playful back and forth between verses. 'The Calling' captured the vibe of the Hilltop live shows and packaged it for listening to in the home, whereas 'The Hard Road' seems much more like a studio album aimed at showcasing their production skills and lyrical ability. This is in no way a bad thing, as although the Hilltop Hoods have shown time and time again they can rock a show, they've now cemented the fact that they're even better in the studio.  |
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