There is not much good to say about the modern world. We’ve got people protesting on the street to remind other people that killing children in a genocide masquerading as a war, we’ve got more Tory MPs being arrested for sexual offences than people for voter fraud, food banks, and GB News still exists.
One of the few decent things about the modern age, though, is that genres don’t matter. There’s a melting pot, and we can all mix in it.
It seems a lifetime ago since Kerrang! first covered The Prodigy and it caused people (let’s call them that because “narrow-minded dicks” is impolite) to get furious. Things have changed.
Which brings us to “Melanin Punk”. The clue is in the title of Oxymorrons debut full-length. A little like the brilliant Bob Vylan, this is an Afro-Carribean band, with cultural differences, and look, to be truthful, I’m an old white bloke from the middle of England, can I understand the experiences of young black men from NYC? No. But here’s the only thing that matters: the damn thing is brilliant.
Take the opener, “Enemy”. on the one hand, it’s perfect modern metal – think In This Moment, but there’s a rap. And it’s urban
They love blurring the boundaries. “Graveyard Words” veers from pop to gangsta rap, and the chorus is huge “Look Alive (Netic)” hard times get better, a self-help anthem for the streets.
And do it goes everywhere. Kid Bookie gives an outstanding performance on “Head For The Hills” while the title track is 111 seconds of bleak state of the union violence.
“Last Call” is the sort of pop that the country stars do, Troi Lyons performs a wonderful duet, it’s the way it effortlessly goes down around so many styles in three minutes.
The collaboration with Hydro The Hydro makes total sense, given the fact there’s a symmetry between them. A couple of things here: try and get “Mike Shinoda Flow” out of your head. Then scrape the top layer away and there’s a struggle for mere existence..
“Insomnia” – keeps it simple: “I don’t give a fuck what you think of me” it goes and it descends to a maelstrom of confusion.
“Re-Up,” says simply, “I am so New York, then “Moon Chasers” ensures a rather unexpected- yet absolute – happy ending. “I am just an ordinary guy, doing ordinary things, living an ordinary life” in an extraordinary way” and that’s the point. And that’s why this works and why it’s so universal.
This debut album is less a record, than a statement. And whilst I don’t claim to understand it, “Melanin Punk” is one of the most original, surprising records of 2023.
Rating 8/10
