Lockah - Please Lockah, Don't Hurt 'Em

  • Share
  • Aberdeen's Lockah is the latest in a line of neon-struck Scottish hip-hip producers, from HudMo and Rustie right through to S-Type. Lockah's talent lies in texture, with sputtering Lex Luger drums often pitted against pianos, euphoric synths and 8-bit tendrils. "Please Lockah, Don't Hurt 'Em" announces the EP in cocksure style with a rollicking piano riff. Building steam, the song explodes into triumphant '80s drama á la M83, as ticking hi-hats duel with Phil Collins snares. The chirpy vocal cut-ups only increase the fever until the track pitches down into a heady trap breakdown. Taking no time to get to the point, "Sly Winking Usury" stumbles into its climax earlier; fireworks explode into pixellated blocks, rubbing against the grain of the song's battle cry of artificial brass. The EP's final track takes the theatrical quiet-loud progression of the first two to its logical conclusion. The precocious intro of "This Is True Muscle Suicide" is Lockah daintily batting his eyelashes, and when it sinks into its barebones sub-heavy bridge, it's almost disappointing—until pitched-up vocals are thrown on a backdrop of screeching trance synths. This surefire recipe for nails-on-a-chalkboard status actually works more like a victory lap, pushed along by the Little Drum Machine That Could going haywire underneath. Elsewhere, Jaw Jam provides an unrecognizable "Rave Cave" remix of the title track, stripping it of its gaudy charms, while BF Hoodrich pulls out the cheesiest elements of "Muscle Suicide" and makes it into an airy, floaty thing that lacks Lockah's epic impact.
  • Tracklist
      01. Please Lockah, Don't Hurt 'Em 02. Sly Winking Usury 03. This Is True Muscle Suicide 04. Please Lockah, Don't Hurt'Em (Jaw Jam's Rave Cave Remix) 05. This Is True Muscle Suicide (BF Hoodrich Remix)
RA