Stanley Odd – Reject

Stanley Odd's second full-length album is a step up from Oddio, building on the politicised, hook driven template they evolved on EPs Pure Antihero Material and The Day I Went Deaf. With an incendiary live reputation and a firm grip on songwriting, they're the most fully-formed band to emerge from Scotland's ever-burgeoning hip-hop scene in recent years.

Not quite every track on Reject hits the sweet spot, but the tight funk of Killergram, the infectious electronic pulse of dystopian anthem Will the Last One Left Please Turn Off the Light, the majestic, epic, string-led sweep of Carry Me Home and the bouncing, pitch-bent synth-funk of Get Out Ma Headspace showcase the band at their eccentric, accessible best. Solareye is a rapper with something to say, but his rhetoric never overshadows the super-tight band, or the smoky, soulful delivery of singer Veronika Elektronika. This is intelligent, polished home-grown hip-hop with broad appeal.