K-Dot-O-Dot

To those who know the name, K-Dot is the douchebag rapper with a penchant for wrestling masks and a dry sense of humour (i.e., "Coke to the Kids"). His Lucha Lonely alter ego, however, allows K-Dot to open up about love and life. But as host Johnny Memphis states on the faux radio show intro to the new album, Lucha Lonely is "a genius in love, a failure at life and a failure in marriage. And so, with Lucha Lonely 2, we get a great deal of self-deprecating lyrics that paint marriage as a bleak institution full of hate and hurt, and life as a series of letdowns. Most impressive is "Every Little Bit Hurts," an extended metaphor that compares his marriage to the relationship between the Earth and Sun. Here, and throughout, K-Dot's attention to detail makes for great and gritty visuals. His dark humour peeks through with the deadpan delivery of lines like, "Everywhere I sit I leave a shit stain" ("Save Yourself") or "I wanna see your faces just before I replace them with strangers" ("You Don't Want Me"). Matching the melancholy subject matter, the Arkeologists forego the typical hip-hop beats for another soulful mix heavy with horns, piano (or occasionally organ), plodding drums and guitar and vocal samples taken from old rhythm and blues, soul and rock records. Lucha Lonely 2 is music for rainy Sunday afternoons, most likely best if not played after a bad break up.