★★★½
Australian hip hop breeds both fierce loyalty and passionate hate.
But while the lovers debate what it is they love about the genre, the haters are very clear: the Australian accent is not made for rap, and our ocker-ness detracts from the message, making it seem as if the artist is just taking the piss. Enter The Tongue and his latest album Hard Feelings, and what’s the first thing you notice? He’s not annoying.
What’s more, the album he has created with rising Sydney producer Papertoy is a tight, thoughtful and entertaining listen, but only if you give it time. Opener ‘The Knock’ and subsequent tracks ‘Never Going Down’ and ‘Houdini’ lack punch and never really engage. The talent and production levels come through, but it feels like background music. This doesn’t last, though, with The Tongue really finding his stride in ‘Proud’. From this point on, everything fits. The soulful minimalism sits beautifully with the lyrical style that seems out of step on the first part of the album.
Hard Feelings takes a little while to get off the ground, but when it does it soars gracefully, with a lot of help from some great local guest talent to boot. It’s just a shame that The Tongue’s grip on the mic doesn’t translate across the entirety.
The Tongue’sHard Feelings is out now throughElefant Traks/Inertia.
