Underground Fossils was an indie rap focused blog run by myself (Dimxsk) and by Trylemma, who passed August 3rd, 2024 from liver failure of unknown origin at the age of 34. We mostly posted week or twice weekly, the bulk of which were rare rips we made, found on old blogs, he acquired through his insanely broad connection to the scene, etc. We did all we could to make sure we didn't post stuff that (1) You could still reasonably buy from the artist directly, (2) You could reasonably buy secondhand for cheap, (3) You could download easily elsewhere, (4) The artist(s) asked us not to for any reason. Being involved in this blog was some of the most fun I ever had, even if at times it was time consuming, challenging or intimidating (having a readership). It was the product of one of the best friendships I've ever had. If I could say one last thing, it's to encourage all of you: if you have the time and desire, make your own UGF. Find a friend who loves this shit like you do and build it together. It will bring you incredible joy, enhance your connection to this amazing community, and change your life in unexpected and exciting ways. I know it did mine. Love you all!

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

New Music: Jack Vaul - A Long Where Away

 


 

I had the good fortune to hear this little gem very recently, Mr. Vaul (of Adelaide, AU. Amusingly I neglected to mention much background when I originally posted this lol) was kind enough to drop it to us and I happily accepted the chance to do a post about it. My only other experience with Jack was through his work with Thorts as Thorts & Prayerz which is an amusing but ultimately dope little EP they did together. This is very much a different beast.

A Long Where Away is dark, hard hitting and heavy. Production tends towards melodic, brooding guitar driven dreariness with some moments of beauty, in many cases brought to you by vocalist rainforestcloudmachine like on the jaw dropping album closer "Castles", a meditation on isolation and loneliness which lyrically wouldn't be out of place on Pink Floyd's The Wall.

This seven track EP features a bit of everything for the modern indie rap consumer. Jack can certainly rip shit up crazy like on "Goldfishing" but his storytelling lyricism is notable as well, especially in places like the aforementioned "Castles" and in epic fantasy novel masquerading as hip hop track opener "The Notlands". Add to that some emotional awareness and mix all that up with a clear nice guy personality (he really wants us to get along as he states on "Snapcrackle"), some seriously banging production and catchy melodies and you have a very dope, very enjoyable album.

I'm pretty enthusiastic about dude. To be fair I haven't heard much. But I'm very intrigued. I would say if you're feeling nostalgic for those Sage Francis days and missing Cubbiebear then you're going to like A Long Where Away. And like I said Jack Vaul is super cool so he definitely deserves your ears and support!

Also, this is his first foray into physical albums, and El Gran E Records out of Texas is offering copies for those of you in the USA. Congratulations to him, that's totally awesome. All the rest check out his Bandcamp here, where he's got lots of free stuff as well for those of us who are apparently not getting a Christmas bonus this year and really not happy about it.



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4 comments:

  1. ThortsDecember 21, 2021 at 4:56 PM

    Dope ep! Jack is an amazing lyricist!

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    Replies
    1. DimxskDecember 21, 2021 at 5:26 PM

      Yeah he really really is. The Notlands is so awesome…

      Delete
  2. 5th.December 23, 2021 at 2:37 AM

    I'm a sucker for OZ and NZ hip hop and what I've heard from Jack in the past has been dope. Didn't know about this though. Checking ASAP

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    Replies
    1. DimxskDecember 24, 2021 at 9:14 AM

      I’m thrilled to hear you heard it here first lol. His music is great and he’s a really chill dude as well. He deserves every listen.

      Delete

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