Malachai - Return to the Ugly Side

  by Sarah Maybank

published: 19 / 2 / 2011

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Review

Was it fate or just accident that Malachai should release an album seething with urban angst, just as cities across the Middle East erupted in a chain reaction of shared anger? Who knows? But nothing will better encapsulate those weeks in early 2011 when Cairo, Tunis, Algiers and Tehran exploded under the yoke of economic hardship and political and religious repression. The album is pure cinema, and its title, 'Return to the Ugly Side', tells you all you need to know about the subject matter. From its ominous, scene-setting opening strings, which spring straight from the mouth of the 'Jaws' soundtrack, to the film noir-ish How You Write, each track shimmers with tension, world weariness or plain desperation. And we haven't even got to the rat-a-tat machine gunfire percussion of 'Monster' yet. So how come the whole thing's not just a massive downer? While 'Return to the Ugly Side' determinedly draws a veil over the sunny side of life, Malachai work their magic just like the master of darkness himself, Tricky. Just like a black-hearted 40's femme fatale, this will draw you in and cloak you in its seductive bleakness so completely you won't want to break out and turn on the lights. Vive la revolution.

Track Listing:-

1 Monsters
2 Anne
3 Mid Antarctica (Wearin' Sandals)
4 Rainbows
5 In The Hole
6 (My) Ambulance
7 Distance
8 Monster
9 The Don't Just
10 How You Write
11 Let 'Em Fall
12 No More Rain Maureen
13 Snake Eyes
14 HyberNation

Label Links:-

http://www.doublesixrecords.com/
https://twitter.com/doublesixrecs
https://www.facebook.com/Double-Six-19
https://www.youtube.com/user/doublesix
https://plus.google.com/10407435529903