Album Review: Electric Wire Hustle

I wasn’t too sure what to make of this self-titled album when I was asked to review it, I mean, how can you infuse hip hop with psychedelic and jazz but that is exactly what Electric Wire Hustle have managed to do – successfully.

This is their debut album and the Wellington trio certainly challenges your musical boundaries. Be prepared to let go of what you know or what you think a genre should sound like.

The first track on the album ‘Waters’ has a strong acoustic sound and relies on Mara’s vocals to draw you in. It is just mesmerizing.

The second track is ‘Gimme That Kinda’ which has a Caribbean feel bassline to it. The next track ‘Perception’ deviates from what was previous with a more psychedelic rhythm and has an interesting drum set at the end. Both these tracks have had international radio support.

Other stand out tracks for me were ‘Again’ with its haunting undertones and ‘Burn’ with David Lange’s ‘No Nuke’ speech opening the track and features Billy TK. This track has more of a rock jazz feel to it and it works well together.

This album deserves recognition, as all 13 tracks are strong, unique and well thought out. This is soul, this is slick, and this is groove at its best.