5 ...according to our Clinton on 27 November 2006.
The new CD/LP from Why? is something of a masterpiece. He's a talented kid.
Of all the Anticon crew he is the one that's moved the furthest away from the
patented avant-hop sound & I'm sure this may have lost him a few fans along
the way but it also sets him apart as the guy who will carry on releasing great
records once the genre dies out. The criticism that Why? has left hip hop behind
to plough a indie/alternative rock furrow is partly true. What he does though is
take the best bits from fantastic bands such as Pavement, Guided by Voices and
(early) They Might be Giants and matches it to the lyrical twists and turns
and production values learnt through hip hop to create an intoxicating
cross pollination. And fuck it above all that he's an amazing songwriter. The
songs never hit first time (and in some cases they even annoy) but give it a few
listens and the hooks start embedding into your skull and after that there's no
going back - you'll be waking in the middle of the night singing them.
There's about 4 or 5 songs on here that are so damn good I could shout it from
the rooftops.
