Album: Spit Syndicate - Towards The Light

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A year after signing with Obese Records, Spit Syndicate is the latest hip hop act to make a mark on the Australian scene. The two MCs in the group, Nick and Jimmy have found a way to apply well-constructed rhymes that are both thought-provoking and entertaining.

Towards The Light kicks off with a track featuring the soulful Sarah Corry, and you can already get an idea of what to expect from the album – soul! Here Today, Gone Tomorrow shows the boys reminiscing over mates that they have lost in their lives. This song is enhanced by the hook sung by Solo as well as the talk-of-the-town producer M-Phazes. After his impressive work on Bliss N Eso's last album, it's no surprise that everything he touches turns to gold. He's not the only well known beat-maker on here, as Jase takes care of business on Pick It Up, also featuring Sarah Corry.  

The album stays pretty much at the same tempo through out, however there are club-bangers like Weapon Of Choice and Til The World Blows Up that give the record a different vibe. It's no surprise to notice that the former was produced by Kaos of Justice and Kaos fame. Not only that but it was also mixed by Weapon X, so you can imagine the type of sound you're going to get from those two. 

Lyrical content is one of those aspects that you don't really notice much until you hear the patriotic Lucky Country, where Spit Syndicate rhyme about some of the things they're more ashamed of in Australian culture such as the Cronulla riots and various decisions made by politicians. Straight after that is On and On,  the heartfelt (and possibly true) story of a father that's left his family and hasn't seen his son since he was a kid.

It's refreshing to hear an Australian album like this that's less 'hardcore' and talks about heart-felt issues. In fact it's entirely different from what I was expecting to hear, particularly from an Obese group. This record is more for the soulful listener and you could probably count the number of swear words on one hand. While some of the purists may find it soft and lacking aggression, the raw emotion of the songs will have most listeners hooked.

Available through Obese Records