Beans

In this electro-spiked follow-up to his first solo album, Beans uses lots of synth, bells, shrill rings and clangs, and wobbly drum bloops to create a minimalist landscape that complements his "speaker’s corner” MC delivery perfectly. His lyrics are by turn witty, cutting, and thoughtful; his style at once surreal and poppy. Beans sets a pace that can be difficult to keep up with, but if you’ve got the energy and a good set of speakers, crank it. "Shock City Maverick” is, without a doubt, a full package deal, but standout tracks still abound. "Papercut” invokes a mad urge to jerk your limbs about or do the robot, "Blind Driver” is delightfully fun and weird, and both instrumental ditty "You’re Dead, Let’s Disco” and Mike Pritchard-produced "Diamond Halo Grenade,” are gems. Who said intelligent, conscious lyricism and popped collars can’t go together? Beans gets full points for doing all of the above, and for doing it with a consistently more creative style than most people can muster on their best day.