Daveed Diggs of clipping. joins forces with ex-Foot Village member Brian Kinsman, Margot Padilla (I.E.), and Signor Benedick The Moor, to form the group True Neutral Crew; and today we take a listen to their killer new mixtape #POPPUNK, another installment from LA’s hotbed of underground rap! Dubbing their genre obliterating explorations kraut-trap, with some serious tongue in the cheek, True Neutral Crew’s blend of styles is definitely something to behold…
Possibly the standout track from the effort, and definitely one that demonstrates their amazingly agile ability to collide genres, “Modern Art” is a kind of manifesto of the mixing pot, presenting a humorous array of athletically delivered rap, before the track “all falls apart”, only to reveal itself to be an angular, post-punk anthem beneath the surface. “Who Else Could I Be?” continues in this vein, adding production from composer/pianist Lauren Bousfield, as well as finding Glasgow rapper diss1 joining the crew on vocals. On the cut, when you peel away the rap track, you find a 90’s-era indie band warming up just beneath the surface; and it includes a k-hole of a drop, before the track launches into a hybrid version of these varied strains. The mixtape’s namesake, “Pop Punk“, also features guest rapper diss1, with additional production from S.R. Cano, and it mixes an infectious chorus about keeping it “tops of the pops”, or something like that, with a driving punk bass-line. Vocals are provided by Diggs, diss1, and Brian Kinsman, and even with their varied styles, they sound right at home rapping over a backing Hardcore band, while their efforts rip down any falsely placed barricades between these neighboring communities!
One senses throughout #POPPUNK that True Neutral Crew is ultimately about building bridges, both sonically and creatively. Regardless of genre, and even geographic proximity, the Crew here seems to have assembled a clique of like minded folk determined to break down any falsely imposed stylistic barriers of the past, while possessing an ear for the more far-out and challenging dimensions of modern music. “Boo Hiss” might be the most straight-forward rap track in the collection, but with left field production from the title’s namesake, as well as a dizzying collage of broken beats, the cut still takes it’s sonic cues from more marginalized, experimental dimensions of the genre. In addition, while “More A Kid” is kind of a miss, it is still interesting, with it’s production from Industrial Noise-scum progenitors Robedoor providing tense ambience in a trap meets drone kind of way; and on “Can’t Stop Loving You“, Venezuelan balladeer Algodón Egipcio adds his mellow vocals to a track that deftly mixes indie rock and synth-pop, with an emphasis on the indie, via it’s “live” band set-up.
#POPPUNK is currently available for download from the True Neutral Crew’s Bandcamp page, and it’s “Name Your Price“, so why don’t you spread the bread for these cats and kitties, as good art still don’t grow for free on trees!
