Great music, incoherent politics. Tommy Evans believes in God and hates evil. (so does Bush). Evil comes from politicians and global corporations. Litter, superficial materialism, ecological degradation and gangsterism are some of the bad things. A revolution is needed, and we need to look behind the scenes to see what's going on. Politicians, the Royal Family and Marks and Spencer are the real criminals. Maybe Bush let the Twin Towers get blitzed. Even the Bible says that Jesus Christ survived crucifixion. No shit.
The fight has been on since 1848 and we've got Cuba to show for it . So far. We dream on, even though we live in nightmarish times. But Tommy, you've got a barcode and a copyright statement on your CD. Can we stick with the music and treat the lyrics as expressing brave concern, partial ideological penetration and an optimistic wish that things were better? OK. At least it's not Blair. No more seminar. Let’s celebrate the huge musical and emotional achievement. (cf Ded Prez)
The tracks are just bursting with original beats, luscious sounds and fine combinations. It’s an infectious, celebratory and masterful tour of Hip Hop in a 2004 English context where everyone's a foreigner. It’s the open-eyed joy that Mike Skinner should have been and never was. Every track whangs in another great slab of terrific bass, beats and monster sounds. Evans is cute to jazz, electronica, rock, gospel, classic scratching, dub, drum n bass, funk, soul and everything that wakes up the ears and moves the spirit. Seductive is a very good word. You cannot but succumb to this CD.
Three tracks in the middle of the set "Jugganaught", "The Parallax View", and "Revolutions" are up there with the best music you'll hear all year. Hip Hop, like the blues, has the minimal framework of form and expectation that makes the genius shove his face right up to the truth and bring it back round for us to be shocked and awed by. The risk is that the lazy will bore us numb with the form and no musical content. No problem with that here. No problem at all.
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There are fourteen songs, with a live sounding "Cry Freedom" and a remix of "Revolutions" as very tasty bonus tracks. A huge bear-hugging bass shifts its weight through the whole show. But between the bass and the voice we 've got something special in every track – piano, guitar, flute, scratching, samples, keyboards. In "Jugganaught" we have what sound like timpani – what a good noise they make. In "Remain Forever" we've got a tastable liquid bass line and very sweet keyboard fills. And NENEH CHERRY. What a coup.
"Move Now" is a fine dance thing with a Bollywood flavour and stabs of the golden voice of ASHA BOSLE. I love this – kind of Cornershop with a deeper drive. The cultural mix works a treat. The film company strings play out with a bicycle bell. And in "Another Hit" that follows we get a sheep impression. We also get The Colony and Nuwella. We are grateful.
TOMMY EVANS certainly is going out there to be shot at. He takes a big chance with the pose, the ammunition belts and the masked insurgent group pics. He's a white northerner in London. He could be a laughing stock. But listen once through to the music and see who's laughing. He's a hero.
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