Back To Reviews Archive The Hip-Hop Headrush

Artist: Spooks
Album: S.I.O.S.O.S.: Volume 1
Label: Antra
Production: Artist, Odyssey, others
Stats: 2000, 14 tracks
Reviewed by: Mass Dosage

The Spooks seemingly chose their name to indicate to listeners their aim of bringing new meaning to old beliefs. This also holds true of their approach to making Hip-Hop music as they bend the rules enough to be noticed as being different without being all the way "out there". Their combination of raspy, off-kilter flows and sultry female vocals covering a range of relatively heavy topics with the odd bit of humour thrown in reminded me a lot of the debut of another East Coast crew known as the Fugees. Whether the Spooks go on to achieve the same level of commercial success is another matter altogether. While SIOSOS (which ostensibly stands for "Spooks Is On Some Other Script") is an interesting and at times innovative album, it lacks that special something needed to make it truly stand out and be remembered as groundbreaking. Their sample free sound grows on one and I found myself enjoying the album more on each listen. The Spooks have delivered a promising debut and will hopefully gain the confidence needed to bring something truly original and outstanding to the table next time around. [6.5/10]


[This review was also published in SL Magazine]

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