Souls of Mischief - Montezuma's Revenge

Montezuma's Revenge sees Oakland legends Souls of Mischief reunited for an album that won't fail to delight fans of quality hip-hop. Starting out on a defiantly old-school tip, the production heavily references Philly soul, jazz and funk. The kicks and snares are deeper and crisper than back in the nineties, but the vibe of Prince Paul's production is reassuringly familiar. This is the West Coast, laid-back territory of The Pharcyde, Jurassic 5, and Del Tha Funky Homosapien.

Among the highlights of the album's first half are the string and flute-led Postal, and call-and-response track You Got It: the Souls are at their strongest when telling stories, or laying down crowd-slaying battle rhymes, and these tracks emphasise their wit and skill.

The album's halfway point is marked by a skit claiming to feature Morgan Freeman, telling the band: "Stop doing that old-school shit." Sure enough, the second half is a bit more experimental: Fourmation is a fantastically loose drum and keys workout; Dead Man Walking takes a sample that sounds as though it was plucked from a 70s cop show or Blaxploitation movie, and pairs it with some tough, muscular rhymes; final track La La La (the album's standout) features Middle Eastern percussion and vocal samples and intense, polyrhythmic flows.

Montezuma's Revenge is a consistent work, rarely falling prey to the fatigue that has begun to plague acts like The Roots. It's a vibrant trip down an old-school memory lane, but also contains genuinely innovative new takes on the standard hip-hop model. [Bram Gieben]