For those of you who like your hip-hop dark, noisy and experimental, this little beauty should be high up on your Christmas list. FOOD FOR ANIMALS have released an aggressive, abrasive album that clashes industrial techno and rap together, to come up with a sound they themselves call “hip-hop/electronic”. At times, it sounds like the Beastie Boys rapping over the sound of a car crash.
Hailing from Washington DC, Food For Animals are duo Ricky Rabbit (in charge of noise and beats) and Vulture Voltaire (raps), and of their technique, Voltaire says: “We blow all samples to bits, piece them back together, and use what we need. We just decided to take it way over the top and fuck people’s ears up.” Mission accomplished.
There are 10 tracks here, spread over 20 minutes. The four short interludes, which last under a minute, help break up the ongoing industrial ear bashing to leave the main tracks more palatable to the senses.
‘Elephants’ is an aural political assault, with Voltaire declaring: “I got misplaced anger, don’t push, and when I say fuck you, I really mean fuck George Bush”. The aggressive tone is relentless and tracks such as ‘Cut And Paste’, and the title track, ‘Scavengers’, show the true talents of the duo. Jagged, hammering, industrial beats complimented by astute rhythmic vocals.
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The centrepiece of the album though, is the frenetic ‘Brand New’. Sampled child vocals, and handclaps, are ripped apart by Rabbit’s hardcore metal beats. Voltaire’s rage-rap is straight out of the Wu Tang school, and for the first time in a long time the excessive use of “fuck” doesn’t disturb.
So, Food For Animals may well be loud, harsh, experimental, cutting edge, and for most people it may take a couple of plays before any semblance of a beat is to be found, but as you should all probably know by now; all good things come to those who wait.
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