New Music: Wolfie Warship - Uphill Crux

Feeling a bit under the weather and short on time this week, so I'll keep this one brief.

Wolfie Warship, fka Xrin Arms (pronounced "Urine Arms" I believe I read somewhere) is a noise rap producer / emcee who I first learned about through his collaboration with Elliott Niezel under the name Wild Dogs (check out that one here), as well as his work with Seattle goth rap star p.WRECKS both on the mic and behind the boards. Warship's misanthropic lyrics coupled with his dark, discordant and eerie production style make him somewhat of an outsider and not for everyone, but definitely an interesting personality in the experimental rap scene. The werewolf on the cover and the dark sound of the music made me feel like this was a perfect album to announce for upcoming All Hallows Eve.

Recently Warship has been putting out tons of beat tapes following his abandonment of the Xrin Arms stage name. His production depends on heavily filtered, off beat 808 drums and novel uses of samples and instruments, unpleasant noises and a punk / metal sense of style, all in all making his music fairly unique but something I'd recommend for fans of Moodie Black and Dälek, and maybe even those who avoid rap but like the sort of tunes people beat each other up to in mosh pits.

Uphill Crux is his first solo vocal album (AFAIK) since 2016's Prognostic Spook as Xrin Arms, and it's safe to say  that he's really come into his own as an artist as these newer tracks have a bit of crisper sound and show more of a willingness to experiment. "Emerald Nausea's" weird as hell drum beat is a great example. They tend to feature more distortion and a harder hitting tone than his previous work as well, with disturbing but brutally honest lyrical content and heart. The personality behind them is shining through, and Uphill Crux benefits from this and it's DIY roots. It's a solid rap album from an angry dude.

Overall, a good debut for the Wolfie Warship moniker, and maybe something that will introduce him to the wider world in time for a Halloween party or two.

Pay what thou wilt shall be the whole of the cost at Wolfie's Bandcamp here.