Die Antwoord albums have always boasted a cocktail of salvaged rave, humour, odd rhymes and piles of energy. While Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid still has most of these elements, the latter has taken a bit of a back seat here. As Ninja rightly points out, Die Antwoord albums have only usually had two rave songs each, but there's always been plenty of fervour amidst their more hip-hop-leaning material too, something that's decidedly lacking on this latest album.
Perfunctory bangers "Banana Brain" and "I Don't Care" aside, Mount Ninji is much more of a slow-burner than its predecessors. "Fat Faded Fuck Face," for one, moves like jet-black treacle, while "Darkling" is not only harrowing throughout, but also shows Yolandi Visser at her most vulnerable, a side of her that's seldom seen.
In similar style to previous records, however, Mount Ninji has a number of skits to offset the gloom. Intro track "We Have Candy" is an oddball mix of opera, nonsensical dialogue and, actually, some of the best rapping on the album. "Wings on My Penis" would be a disaster of track were it not completely absolved by the fact that it's rapped by a six-year-old named Lil Tommy Terror. Then there's "Rats Rule," featuring Jack Black, which isn't necessarily a skit track but shouldn't be taken too seriously either. You can almost picture Black booming this one out on stage decked out in a top hat and holding a cheap cane. It sounds like an intro to an abandoned musical, basically.
It's tempting to say that this is a more mature Die Antwoord, considering the dark and sincere nature of some of the tracks, but the sheer ridiculousness of others can't help but nullify that thought. All in all, there's ample material on here for fans, even if Mount Ninji lacks a lot of the bite that made albums like Ten$ion and Donker Mag so fresh and exhilarating.
(Zef Records / Sony)Perfunctory bangers "Banana Brain" and "I Don't Care" aside, Mount Ninji is much more of a slow-burner than its predecessors. "Fat Faded Fuck Face," for one, moves like jet-black treacle, while "Darkling" is not only harrowing throughout, but also shows Yolandi Visser at her most vulnerable, a side of her that's seldom seen.
In similar style to previous records, however, Mount Ninji has a number of skits to offset the gloom. Intro track "We Have Candy" is an oddball mix of opera, nonsensical dialogue and, actually, some of the best rapping on the album. "Wings on My Penis" would be a disaster of track were it not completely absolved by the fact that it's rapped by a six-year-old named Lil Tommy Terror. Then there's "Rats Rule," featuring Jack Black, which isn't necessarily a skit track but shouldn't be taken too seriously either. You can almost picture Black booming this one out on stage decked out in a top hat and holding a cheap cane. It sounds like an intro to an abandoned musical, basically.
It's tempting to say that this is a more mature Die Antwoord, considering the dark and sincere nature of some of the tracks, but the sheer ridiculousness of others can't help but nullify that thought. All in all, there's ample material on here for fans, even if Mount Ninji lacks a lot of the bite that made albums like Ten$ion and Donker Mag so fresh and exhilarating.