Revelator

A year after New York experimental rap duo Armand Hammer first appeared on Fat Possum Records with 2023s We Buy Diabetic Test Strips, member Elucid issued his first effort for the label, Revelator. His solo work has always been deeply abstract, reaching further into noise, post-punk, and avant-garde influences than his collaborative partner billy woods usually does, and with Revelator, he continues in We Buy Diabetic Test Strips direction of incorporating more live instrumentation. The result is a frantic, jarring, and unpredictable effort which darts from breakbeat-fueled mayhem to noisy droning, all framing Elucids persistent lyrics about caring for his family, struggling for survival and success inside a racist system, and maintaining hope. The albums guest producers and contributors include DJ Haram, Saint Abdullah, Samiyam, and bassist Luke Stewart (Irreversible Entanglements). Opener "The World Is Dog" feels like the soundtrack to a breathless chase scene, with a racing bassline and a snatch of Amen breakbeats underpinning the sprinting drums. "CCTV" is erratic and paranoid, and "Slum of a Disregard" (which ends with the cut-up phrase "My landlords a Zionist") breaks free from rhythm and dissolves into frazzled improvisation, but others like the ghostly "Bad Pollen" and hallucinatory "RFID" are crushed out and doused in buzzing distortion. In the midst of sparser, more confessional tracks like "In the Shadow of If" and "SKP," theres the relatively lighthearted "Hushpuppies" (about frying fish on a Friday) and the mesmerizing "14.4," with a triumphant guest verse by Skech185. The tense industrial thudding of the concluding "Zigzagzig" stresses the albums underlying message of optimistic perseverance. ~ Paul Simpson