Play 90 second soundbite of 'Is That What You Want' @ 'CD quality'
'Is That What You Want' EP, with its four excellent and quite varied tracks, is a cleverly crafted work that covers quite a lot of ground in its fifteen or so minutes. The title track is probably the biggest 'rocker' here; pulsating riffs stomp along behind the superbly crafted and well delivered vocals. Very much in the Run DMC mould 'Is That What You Want' certainly works as an opener and gets you into The Reluctants way of doing things. 'Meant To be' carries a hefty R&B vibe set against what could almost be described as an electro-rock backdrop. The somewhat creepily discordant but stunning 'Sleep Walking' is, for me, the best track on offer here; a slow and moody piece featuring an annoyingly catchy melody line bolstered by great sounding keyboard work and spiky guitars. There's a lot going on but The Reluctants manage to keep everything nicely proportioned allowing clarity and separation. 'Take It Or Leave It' features a slow bluesy riff and soulful vocals against a throbbing bass line. This is a real tidy piece and a grower! That's it, fifteen minutes of hip hop/rock with a difference that I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to.
The Reluctants hip hop way is a very likeable hip hop way. MC's MD and Knowledge and Maiko work extremely well together - no matter who takes the vocal lead the others give sympathetic support to enhance rather than cloud the delivery allowing the listener full access to the lyrics. They each seem to have a good understanding of the others' vocal dynamics and delivery and use each others' strengths to feed off and grow on. They work together with seemless unity and lay down some bloody great grooves between them and, I love their genre-shake-up way. For sure, The Reluctants are one of the few hip hop acts that I'd actually take time out to listen to. I like what I'm hearing!
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