Simcoe Street Mob

Simcoe Street Mob are all about jokes with their debut album, 168, but they rock some crazy concepts. Margetz is an ex-janitor, the ringleader and most often the straight-man. His brother, the Reverend Capp, makes his "rapping debut” here as a paralysed holy man. Then there’s Pointy Beak (a large, producing and rapping bird) and Loaf A Bread (a beat-boxing, uh, loaf of bread). Sometimes their lyrics are a little simplistic, and the recurrent themes of homosexuality, big boobs, and poo betray a sense of humour that is often childish. But sometimes it works for them, like when Loaf A Bread warns, "I’m a little pissed off, I just got nibbled on by geese,” and brags, "Not black or white, just a nice golden brown,” on "Simcoe Street MC’s,” or with Pointy Beak’s pigeon talk intro to "General Wolf.” Besides, the songs are pretty catchy. The two just mentioned are their best: "Simcoe Street MC’s” is a rousing posse cut that takes a simple and catchy little head-nodder and mixes in some insane sounds, while "General Wolf” is a murky, rough diss to General Wolf High School from Margetz. And though they’re also catchy, "Big Boob Baby” and "Babies” are a little creepy. Hopefully future albums will bring a more sophisticated humour, but for now SSM’s 168 is good for a few laughs. Plus it’s worth noting that any artwork that takes advantage of the jewel case itself is always a nicely added touch.