A rapper with punk connections, the press release describes him as. It’s hard to see how that would work, especially with the terrors of Rap/Metal still haunting the back of my mind; but after seeing P.O.S has toured with a decent set of bands in the past, along with the Warped Tour, expectations rose…
…and continued to rise, as first track ‘Let It Rattle’ came flowing from the speakers. Lyrics full of relevance and intelligence, spoken at quite a lick, serves as a perfect introduction and sets out P.O.S’s stall brilliantly. Instantly dragging in the listener, propelled by the heavy drums and urgency of the vocals.
‘Drumroll (We’re All Thirsty)’ carries on in the style, but ups the ante – the speed of the verses here is incredible – yet never once does it lose it’s point, or become unintelligible. The obvious drumroll fires the track along, supported by distorted guitars and a chanted chorus. It works brilliantly, and is one of the best tracks on the album because of it.
Third track ‘Savion Glover’ starts off like a more typical rap track; only better. Nothing is generic here, even the simple drumbeat backbone supports everything well. It segues nicely into ‘Purexed’, an impressive bassy number with an uplifting, encouraging chorus line. Easily another contender for best track on the album.
‘Get Smokes’ sounds almost unfinished, but in the best possible way. It starts off like spoken word, with occasional funk-guitar support – it sounds disjointed, like the band are only hearing the song for the first time…but all comes together around 1min30secs in, like everything before was building to that moment, and it suddenly all makes sense. It could be called a low-point, but only marginally…and on an album of this calibre, it hardly detracts.
The standard doesn’t drop through the rest of the album, even when the tempo slows on ‘Optimist’; it’s a slow track with an interesting beat, and is open and honest with a healthy dose of self-reflection. Even slowed down, the talent is obvious, and it sounds as fresh as anything else on here.
‘Terrorish’ follows; a dirty, distorted track overlayed with quick-fire rap and an impeccable flow – with an unexpected punk guest vocals courtesy of former Kid Dynamite, current None More Black vocalist Jason Shevchuk. It works well, showcasing the ease at which P.O.S transcends genres.
Repeated listens to the album brings out more of the lyrical flourishes, and little touches that may have been missed first few times. It an album that keeps giving, and never tires.
Every verse on the album is constructed with the utmost care, delivered with skill and the right amount of anger; the lyrics themselves are intelligent and full of heart, and never once resort to the tired stereotypes of most modern rap. As pissed off as P.O.S sounds at times, it never seems misplaced or unnecessary. The beats, also, deserve a special mention. It’s refreshing, exciting and brilliant all at once, and never settles for anything less. The talent on offer here is undeniable – a fantastic rap/rock/punk album, call it whatever you like, just listen to it.
The whole P.O.S package is unique, in a genre of one. A truly impressive album.
Rating: 
