David Holmes
Let's Get Killed
(GO!/London)
The way that Holmes went about making this album is a story in itself. A big time soundtrack buff, he went to New York City with a pile of DAT recorders and interviewed people on the street for several weeks. He then went home and took the most choice parts of these conversations and constructed songs around them. In a sense, the album plays itself out in sort of a soundtrack sense because of this. There's a raw feel with the recorded conversations going, but he ties a wicked groove into each song. Too add to the excitement, it sounds like he talked to some really crazy-ass mofos.
The music on the disc ranges from laid-back to harsh and Holmes is great at capturing the emotion of the conversations in what he chooses to do with his music. The title track rumbles along as it follows the rambling of some guy who is talking about beating the crap out of someone while the lighter, "Freaknik" starts out with a kid talking about getting kicked out of a club for moshing. Finally, he screams and the track busts loose right along with him. It's funny and funky at the same time. At first, all the talking and street noise is a bit disconcerting, but after a couple listens, everything folds over onto itself and the listener is left with a cohesive album with an interesting premise.
Rating: 6.5
