polaroids of androids

Those that know me know that I love hip-hop. In fact, I was a wanksta for around 94% of the nineteen naughtiez, stuck in the thinking that KRS-One, Snoop Doggy Dogg (yes, only with the 'Doggy' part), Dr. Dre and Nas were modern day poets. I pretty much ignored local rap music during this time, seeing it more as a novelty ("scollops with the lot" anyone?) than on the same level as their overseas counterparts. As the 21st century approached my music taste expanded into 'smash shit' punk, 'indie' rock and became more focused on what was happening in my own backyard. Naturally, it was only a matter of time until local hip-hop caught up with my merging tastes, and groups like the Hilltop Hoods, Butterfingers and Sydney's The Herd came onto my radar.

From an outsider's perspective, Australian hip-hop can be lazily thrown into one of only a few categories - the foolish jokers, the US imitators, the Hilltop Hoods and The Herd. For as long as I can remember The Herd and the Hoods have existed in their own world, a level above the rest of the pack. Whilst the Hilltop Hoods played the blue collar Australian angle, The Herd took on the more complex political side of things. Their track 77%, with it's carefree use of the c-word, had Triple J pulling themselves off over their 'alternative-ness' and sparked the group's steady flow of light political indie hits with the solid backing of the radio station and a legion of non-hip-hop fans opening up to them. Truth is, it could be argued that The Herd aren't political at all, that they just stumbled onto something that struck a nerve with the public and ran with it. Their earlier work, which dealt with issues such as ordering food at a takeaway shop, is a long way from calling the country a pack of racists.

But who cares. 77% was and is a fucking great song. It's forceful, albeit simplistic nature was impossible to ignore and for better or worse threw a dagger in the direction of the political and social landscape of this country. What is most disappointing about Summerland, their fourth studio album, is that with the exception of a couple of tracks including the John Howard exiting homage, The King Is Dead, and the more global-focused 2020, they don't continue with this direct approach. Gone are my hopes that these guys were going to develop into the Australian version of Dead Prez and spark some excitement, action and aggression within a country that most would agree is in need of a continual shake-up for a whole variety of reasons.

From a musical point of view, the group with it's giant line-up of MCs, bring a whole truckload of intelligent and focused rhymes to the table. The production - split between the group and the Elefant Traks extended family - consists mostly of live instrumentation and while thrown to the back behind the lyrics, doesn't detract too much from the songs. However, for the most part this is a very dull and uneventful record. The majority of the tracks follow the same pattern; three verses, broken up by a bland, R'n'B female led chorus. Skimming through, it's difficult to notice substantial differences between each of the songs. The choruses often lack a catchy element to separate them from each other and the verses, although technically well conceived, don't make as big an impact as they should.

As they have during other moments throughout their career, The Herd playfully use a whole bunch of somewhat cringe-worthy colloquial references. The track Toorali, which borrows lines from Botany Bay, is most probably their worst attempt at this technique to date - with it's copy/paste approach to the famous Australian song incredibly painful to listen to. The track lacks enough substance to force your attention to make it an exciting listen, just the same as most of the other tracks on the record. At times there are flickers where the group break into more creative musical arrangements, but there is just not enough of these to sustain the interest of people like me who aren't getting a lot out of their insistence to keep serving up the same recycled formula.

On the few occasions where the group do what they do best and attack some ideas and/or preconceptions - the music goes to a whole new level. When You Escape (Music Vs Fashion) takes a swipe at the current state of the Australian music scene and does a great job at dissecting not only the bullshit image side of the industry but also where their own image as a 'political hip-hop group' fits into the scheme of things. It's a great example of how good The Herd can deliver a message in the form of a clever and precise argument.

Sure, they might be starting to get smarter - and more commercially focused - in the way in which they deliver their message, but they are also getting lost in their own complexity. I hardly think Public Enemy's music would have had such an impact if they had replaced their who gives a fuck about a goddamn Grammy with something like yeah, so we don't really think the Grammy's are really that relevant to our genre. This record tip-toes around a lot of stuff, but rarely grabs the issue with both hands and shakes the shit out of it. This is frustrating, to say the very least.