Search - Street Sweeper Social Club :: The Ghetto Blaster EP

My favorite album this year

Shala Kerrigan | Anchorage | 08/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard about SSSC when they were performing with Nine Inch Nails and Jane's Addiction in spring 2009. They had 2 songs available on a free sample download for the tour. I liked those songs even better than the ones for the headlining bands. They rocked very hard. So when they came out with their first self-titled album, I ordered it the day it was released. I wasn't disappointed and it's been on my favorites list on my ipod ever since.

This E.P. proves the first album wasn't a fluke.

Tom Morello's guitar skills and music teamed with Boots Riley's lyrics and voice are a winning combination if you like serious rock. It's political,it's social commentary, it's loud, angry, funny and clever, and most of all, it rocks.

The E.P. starts out strong with it's title track and never slows down. My favorite song is song number four so far. It's Boots at his best, making comparisons and observations in rapid fire lyrics.

I love what these two do together. Morello writes the music, and Riley writes the lyrics. If you haven't heard anything by Boots Riley before, he's the voice of political hip-hop group The Coup. Morello has been in a few groups with his amazing guitar skills, but my favorite is Rage Against the Machine. His playing on this album is more like RATM than like Audioslave. It's driving, rocking, screaming, talking guitar.

My favorite songs on the album, if I have to narrow it down to what I'd recommend for people who just want to try it first, are the title track, track 4, and the remake of Promenade.

I like the original songs by them best, but there are two covers on this album.The cover of Mama Said Knock You Out is a hard rocking take on LL Cool Jay's song. The cover of M.I.A.'s Paper Planes is extremely well done and showcases Riley's voice in a good way.

ETA: As Scott Mcclure points out in the comments, Everythang is a cover as well. It was originally a song by The Coup with a shiny new guitar track by Morello."