Foreign Beggars - United Colours of Beggattron

Now that Mike Skinner is making records fit only for covermounting with Sunday supplements and Dizzee Rascal is topping the charts with saccharine pop that seems to bask in its own inanity, it’s safe to say that British hip-hop has seen better days. Here to save it from coffee tables and ringtone irrelevance is Foreign Beggars, with another uniformly eclectic set of tracks. Quick off the mark to convey the record's more accessible side is Move Higher, a psychedelic slice of Dr. Who Dat?-esque hip-hop anchored with the Beggars' lightning fast flow. Shake It wobbles with an infectious underwater bass, and in a just world, Seven Figure Swagger would be the next grime crossover hit. It’s a shame to say that despite these highlights, the LP as a whole falls short of the high standard they set. Not the satisfying smorgasbord of diversity they intended, Beggattron is too inconsistent and the disparate collection of producers and styles is too heady a brew to enthrall the listener for its entire duration.[Ian Crichton]