El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead

It seems the hype machine has finally caught up with El-P this latest LP has been greeted with adulation and overstatement by the glossy press and the broadsheets alike. The man behind Company Flow and the Def Jux roster, one of the most inventive and consistently excellent labels in hip-hop, is now the flavour of the month. For once, the hype machine is correct - I'll Sleep... is a fantastic and rewarding piece of work, sonically it owes as much to the hyperactive cut and paste anarchy of the Bomb Squad's productions as it does to El-P's own back catalogue. The dark, gothic textures of the classic Funcrusher Plus are still evident, but they are offset with rampant funk and sampled radio (Dear Sirs), funerary organs (Run The Numbers), mutant breakbeat (Up All Night) and an inspired collaboration with Trent Reznor on Flyentology. Neither have El-P's lyrics lost their razor-sharp, abrasive intelligence - he is one of the most literate and politically conscious MCs working. El-P is required listening. [Bram Gieben]