Cassette
60 minute mixtape precursor to a debut Rat Heart LP we're informed is arriving later in the year, which stands as one of the more intriguing ways to launch a record we've encountered this year. Not least because I've no real idea how what's on this tape is going to play into that record, while this stands on its own as a pretty special introduction. Behind the wheel is Tom Boogizm, an artist with a history for favouring both the iconoclastic and the provocative, qualities he brings to the fore again here. Rat Heart casts its net wide, drawing on fractured R&B, the decayed electronics of Actress, abstract dub, hip hop influenced hematics (it returns to the 'rat' motif throughout), a very unexpected opening cover and a kind of DIY obnoxiousness that feels very northern in nature. It's a hell of a trip, equally caustic, playful and soulful, like Hype Williams evolved one stage further into cratedigger collage. Unlike anything else this week, or even this year. Big look.
