Bad Taste: Bad Taste II (digital outlets)

We'll admit immediately we had never heard of Bad Taste until this album arrived, but we were certainly aware of David Alphabethead from the enjoyably noisy Wellington band All Seeing Hand.

Alphabethead is here (on samples and electronics) with rapper Young Gho$t on a doom-laden collection of downbeat electro/hip-hop which delivers thrusts and slaps at the state of contemporary society, made potent by the sense of menace from the sonic samples.

But there's also a slippery soul-funk sample dropped in at the end of Judgement Day which leads naturally into the old school scratching funk of Bad Friend which sounds like a call to throw your hands in the air like you just don't care.

Some of this really gets under the skin (the hypnotic beats, samples and Young Gho$t's flow on Looks Wrong) and Alphabethead has a strong sense of how to anchor everything with a hook. The link they make with RZA as an influence makes sense.

There's an emotional weariness here too: Slow Down, Like Lavender (with soulful backing vocals) and Gho$t's message to self on What's It All About? which is a consideration of where he's at: “it's a work in progress but I'll keep you updated on my work in progress”.

Let's hope so because although these inna-sit-ee Lundun deliveries might not be to a lot of tastes there's a rewarding conjunction of samples and vocals here which is tightly focused across these 14 short tracks.

Well worth tuning in for. I suspect you'll stick with it and be back for more

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here.

Tour date for Bad Taste

Wellington, Moon, Saturday June 10 w/ BIRDPARTY, Sorchalula & Glitz Club
Auckland, Wine Cellar, Friday 16 June w/ Guardian Singles & DBLDBL
Lyttelton, Lyttelton Coffee Company, Saturday 24 June w/ MOTTE & Shared Soul

Whanganui, Porridge Waton Friday 7 July w/ Displeasure, BIRDPARTY & XRVR