Planet Notion - Hip Hop

Fact: Ugly Duckling are natural born party rockers. Releasing three albums since forming in 1993, smile-inducing, feel good hip-hop joyfully abounds with these chaps. So it comes as no real surprise that ‘Audacity’ - their fourth long player - is bubbling over with trademark Ugly Duckling goodness and California warmth.

This album however, isn’t just Andy, Dizzy and Einstein regurgitating formulaic good-time hip-hop. Following 2006’s killer ‘Bang For The Buck’, ‘Audacity’ brings some highly unexpected, but altogether pleasant surprises. From the get go, opening stomper ‘I Won’t Let It Die’ belies a somewhat different Ugly Duckling. Sure, there are body-shaking drum breaks. And super funkified horns? You got it. But instead of sticking with the usual bombastic and jocular anecdotes from their previous opuses, ‘Audacity’ smacks of a more mature UD. Gone are the quick-fire battle raps, tag team wordplay between Andy and Dizzy and gangsta rap bashing. In their stead you’ll find a more conscious sensibility, a laid back, yet more accomplished production style, and perhaps the most surprising thing of all: singing.

That’s right, singing. The group have already experimented with melody and the odd bit of singing in their ‘Taste The Secret’ LP, but ‘Audacity’ sees them crooning away in at least half of its songs. Before you dismiss this as a Kanye-type 808s monstrosity, the vocals actually work really well given the more insightful themes explored. ‘Falling Again’ for example, finds Andy and Dizzy dealing with their personal inadequacies over a bed of laid back acoustic guitars, shimmering strings and an easy, but essential thumping beat that culminates in a pure sing-along chorus. You won’t be able to resist. And unlike Kanye’s ‘808s’, the heavier material in ‘Audacity’ isn’t wallowing and lachrymose. Rather, the trio have deftly imbued a sense of optimism and hope, which is straight up Ugly Duckling through and through.

Of course, there are the obligatory Ugly Duckling Bangers on this record. Title track ‘Audacity’, swings with the brass like it was from the Roaring 20s, before transmogrifying into a funk-infused beat monster complete with cross fader antics courtesy of Young Einstein. And speaking of Einstein, ‘Einstein Do it (Night On Scratch Mountain)’ shows the producer’s ever-growing skill as a beat maker and turntablist, with over one-hundred different cuts used to make what is, quite frankly, a storming instrumental.

‘Audacity’ may not be as openly rambunctious as ‘Bang For The Buck’, and therefore not as instantly rewarding, but Yudee have had the audacity to break from the mould and make a record you can sit down, listen to, and think about. In a world where music is readily available for free, this is one record you should have the audacity to cop. Ian Hsieh

Audacity is released January 26th. MySpace.com/UglyDuckling