Netherworld "Admiral Crumple" Review

I know straight off the bat, people are going to cry wolf and say that I'm a Crumple jockey because we've worked together in the past. (some people even think that I am him…) With that said, I hope ethical journalism can be given the driver's seat on this one and leave the he-says and she-says out of it. The reason I have to say this is with Admiral Crumple's ninth album out, this is his most complete work to date: from the production quality, which has been upping and upping since day-one, to the lyrical strength of his bars. But it's not all cake and cookies. ( © Mike Wait) Not by a long stretch. I like to think that the words myself and other writers have said about Crump's previous "horrorcore" work has inspired him to touch a higher plane and a new direction.

Instrumentally, the album is solid, and his beat-making sets him apart from the other grimy, dark hip-hop circles. Other than "Reflect," which sounds like a Garageband throwaway, the other songs bang. "Impending Doom" is an example of his interesting craftsmanship, which takes its cues from dubstep with slower basslines and hi-hats, but faster sampling over top the backdrop. "The Motivation" carries an eerie west-coast synth while Crumple sings along (out of tune, but it has an interesting sound), and definitely is one my favorite songs from the album, with a dope break ¾ of the way to the end.

Simplicity is the name of his game, especially on his lead single: "Merk You." With scant synths and gritty drums, he pursues the same tip that has been omnipresent in all Crumple work, except here he speaks directly to the camera, as it were, breaking down the fourth wall: there's an introduction talking about how he tries to understand his many haters, but how it's his turn to be understood now.

Ultimately, there is only so much that can be said on the issues of childhood, drugs, jealousy, and hallucination, and the subject matter continues to get tiresome. It wouldn't be a complete album from the Crumpster without a big name cameo either, and this time it's his longtime idol Cage, from the Def Jux family. This is the cleanest collab I've heard from him and meshes a lot better than the Kool Keith one of last year. Cage sounds nice over the beat, probably because it sounds like an El-P knock-off with the signature 808 drums (no Kanye). The song, while it runs well, is a poor way to finish off the entire disc and leaves some of the stronger sentiments at bay. As Admiral Crumple continues to make album after album every year, my biggest criticism would be that he doesn't spend time on one project to clean it, polish it, dry it, and serve it with a lot more cohesion. I believe if he were to push his subject matter in other directions more often, like was shown a couple times on this outing, he'd have a better chance at breaking into the commercial realm he refers to and aspires to be a part of. Until then, his music will go silent over ears outside of his core demographic that supports him wholeheartedly. I have to say, this upward movement that was first noticed on "The Next Night," his previous album, is not losing momentum, but like I mentioned, it's a shame that it's taken nine albums to get where he is now. It's always two steps forward, one step backward, and a stumble.