Nick Biggs
Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip divided opinion in 2007 with their energetic, ideological debut single Thou Shalt Always Kill. Their debut album, Angels, continued along the same axis, spurting direct, idiosyncratic narratives over a tapestry of samples and inventive rhythmic compositions. Together, they planted a flag in previously unoccupied musical territory, somewhere between hip-hop, electronica and outright novelty. This release, The Logic of Chance, sets up camp in a very similar musical wilderness. In other words, more of the same.
Yet not as good. Scroobius Pip’s stylised preaching seems somewhat hollow, and it’s not altogether clear who could seriously buy into it. The progression of his narratives appear to have been decided more by what rhymes than by what is actually meaningful. This is a problem on an album where almost every song is clearly supposed to contain an underpinning moral or truth. Furthermore, a series of low key opening tracks result in this album almost finishing before it stutters into life. This means a certain degree of patience is required for the album to take effect: a patience, I suspect, only existing fans will muster.
As much as I enjoyed the band’s debut album, it was primarily their energy and immediacy that appealed to me. These key elements have been largely sidelined on The Logic of Chance, which is overall a more serious and politicised record. It is the same trademark forumla but without anything particularly inventive to rejuvenate it. The album sounds a litte, dare I say it, 2007.
