Review: Apostle of Hustle- Eats Darkness

Yesterday the Apostle of Hustle, Andrew Whiteman, debuted the group's third LP, 'Eats Darkness'. I, like most AoH fans, got initially roped in to the band through the Broken Social Scene affiliations, and hooked after one listen to 'Folkloric Feel'. I still remember the first time I ever heard "Sleepwalking Ballad" (an almost religious experience), and I will argue that "Animal Fat" is among the best tracks that Arts and Crafts have ever put out. 'National Anthem of Nowhere' followed, and though showcasing some great songs ("My Sword Hands Anger", "Cheap Like Sebastian", "A Rent Boy Goes Down"), the album as a whole left me with the realization that it could have been so much more. Instead of delivering on this possibility, 'Eats Darkness' simply traverses further along AoH's apparent road to mediocrity.

Of the records 13 tracks on ED, five are just collages of vocal sampling, leaving us only 8 actual AoH songs to listen to. I'm a big fan of quality of quantity (ie. 'Her Wallpaper Reverie' anyone?), but this is simply not the case here. Two tracks, "Eazy Speaks" and "Perfect Fit", have an odd indie meets reggae style to them, in a possible attempt to revive the cuban influences of earlier records, which unfortunately just doesn't work. I really could have gone the rest of my life without ever having to think of Matisyahu again; thanks Whiteman. My favorite off the record is probably the title track, a brooding instrumental in the vein of BSS's "Late Nineties Bedroom Rock...". "Xerses" and "How To Defeat A More Powerful Enemy" also manage to carry energy and work as pop songs. The remaining 3 tracks however, are just as forgettable as everything you can't quite remember off of NAoN. Ultimately, this record fails to carry any kind of energy or vibe, being constantly interrupted by the vocal sampling link tracks, bogged down by failed genre experiments, and plaqued by a simple lack of songs that carry memorable melody or instrumentation. Not unworthy of a listen, but maybe just one will be enough.

Rating: 5/10
Best tracks: "Xerses", "Eats Darkness", "How To Defeat A More Powerful Enemy"

Why the big deal over Camera Obscura?

Seriously. I don't get it. After the reception 'My Maudlin Career' got, I was swayed to finally give the group a listen. And that album was.. well, nice... In this case thats not necessarily a compliment. I mean, there are thousands of plain old pleasant sounding albums, and for me this did not break out of the pack. Not willing to give up so easily, I though maybe I'd get sucked into the craze by having a listen to 2006's highly praised 'Let's Get Out of This Country'. And yes, I actually did check my player once or twice to make sure I wasn't accidentally listening to 'MMC' again. They are the exact same album. Just as bland, and coincedentally just as nice. For comparison sake, after listening to an album like 'If You're Feeling Sinister' (which I bring up only because of the similarities between the groups), I was immediately able to distuingish each song and have a solid concept of the album after one spin. Both Camera albums however, just left me in a fog. All the songs on both records are indistuingishable. I don't mean to hate here, because the records aren't bad, they just leave the question lingering irritatingly in my head: why the big deal over Camera Obscura??

To make sure no gets completely turned off by this- check out the song "James".