Vancouver, BC rappers Azrael and Inkspill debut as a duo with Mur-Diddly-Urdlers, a dark, tongue-in-cheek album that echoes the spirit of the classic Simpsons episode "Bart of Darkness," their album title taken from a quote by goody-two-shoes Ned Flanders in that episode. The two rappers tastefully pepper the album with lyrical references to the show, while samples and cuts from the show also appear in both songs and interludes, such as the mid-song sample of Principal Skinner stating star coordinates on "Shooting Stars" or guest DJ K-Rec's scratching of Flanders' "I'm a mur-diddly-urdler" on "Raplantis." Although "Shiner" seems more about each MC's life philosophy, the album is pretty much braggadocio.
Still, the discovery of new references to the Simpsons and other dark subjects revealed in the witty writing and layered metaphors will reward repeat listeners. Azrael's vocals are deeper and cleaner while Inkspill has a slightly gravelly faster flow, but both demonstrate a tight delivery and relaxed confidence over the soulful '90s-style West Coast beats (mostly uptempo but laidback in a few cases) of mikedecline, Metawon, Ryan Stinson, the Dirty Sample and Sythe. It all adds up to an easy album to listen to repeatedly, and it really grows on you.
(Phonographique)Still, the discovery of new references to the Simpsons and other dark subjects revealed in the witty writing and layered metaphors will reward repeat listeners. Azrael's vocals are deeper and cleaner while Inkspill has a slightly gravelly faster flow, but both demonstrate a tight delivery and relaxed confidence over the soulful '90s-style West Coast beats (mostly uptempo but laidback in a few cases) of mikedecline, Metawon, Ryan Stinson, the Dirty Sample and Sythe. It all adds up to an easy album to listen to repeatedly, and it really grows on you.
