Dirtburg Feeling Vanderbilt EP
Dirtburg are an amazing live band. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them many times, whilst going to check out various Buttercuts events. The two collectives work well together because they understand the importance of live instrumentation in hiphop. And that makes the tunes sound musically more special and more thought about, more layered and more structured than just the same funk sample looped around and around for four agonisingly repetitive minutes.
“Feeling Vanderbilt” is a solid first release, showing a lot of potential for the future. While it is flawed, it still marks a good start for rapper Boneca and the rest. From the mile-high feel of the plane in the beginning leading into the kick-in of the bass and drums on “Scratch’n’Sniff” to the funk out breakneck rapping of “I Can’t Do That” Dirtbug display skills “fresher than a breath mint”. The shining through on the EP is the combination of the guitar and bass players, who have a good ability to play around each other and built up funk licks and hip-hop stop-start rhythms. The problem with the EP is that it fails to fully represent the Dirtbug sound. Live, everything is taken up a notch of adrenaline, which is amply displayed on stage. The drummer and the rappers display a huge range of passion and energy. On record, however, they let down by a disappointing mix. Whilst the EQ on the bass lines add to the slap bass funk feel, the drums sound hollow and too bassy on the snare definition and the vocals also fall prey to the same bassy compression. The drums could have been louder and the guitar feels like it doesn’t sit comfortably in the mix. Live, however, it is not this way. This is not to say that songs like “The Anthem” are not bangers. They show a lot of potential, and live they prove that with the right mix, on record people will soon be rocking to the sounds of Dirtburg. I look forward to their next release with anticipation.
- Nikesh Shukla
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