Interrobang Part 1 - Whenever I think about Rock/Rap I always think about Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
“You got your rock in my Rap”, says the MC
“No, you got your Rap in my Rock”, says the guitarist.
Interrobang is a group out of the UK that slams down a blend of Hard Rock and straight up flows a rhyme over it each time. With fuzzed grinding guitars from Scotty Boi, Interrobang lays down a sonic bed for Ando to preach over. The guitars lay a sound thick and sharp as a razor. With such dense distortion you can feel the influence of both Grunge and Metal. Scotty has the ability to lay it hard but to be soft with the beat. Interrobang’s playing is done rather well over the 3 tracks on this release. They explode phrasing with elements of groove to that of full blown pile driving. With Craig behind the 4 strings of funk you have a groove element that helps keep the “Rap” factor of this band in check. His tone may be muddy, but it is one that will make the crowd want to move. I do wish that some of the mid range frequencies from his rig were a bit higher in the mix, so you could hear those strings pop a bit more. It would would also help to work counter point to Scotty’s guitar tone. With Mikey slamming the skins on the kit you have someone that can lay a beat and hold this band together. His high hat work on the beginning of “Back In the Day” is rather sharp. I would like to hear his playing more balanced in the mix as well. With the vocals and guitar so up in your face these tracks don’t have the ability to “breathe” the way they might and I think that it would help the songs sound better overall. It’s a tricky business to balance the edge of Rock and the Groove of Rap. The production is on point though, and you can tell this isn’t just a bunch of noob’s in their basement recording with a 4 track. Ando behind the mic hits you hard and fast and does well fronting this project. He really knows how to use the beat to his benefit. His cadence and delivery are light years ahead of so many that try and work the Rock/Rap genre. I would highly recommend this band to those that like Alternative, Rap, Hip Hop, Rock, Hard Rock, Punk and Grunge genres. With this installment Part 1 is just the foundation. It will be interesting to see what Interrobang builds atop such a rock solid start.
Michael
Music Reviews
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