This is the one guys. Give me a second though to provide the context.
It's probably well known at this point that Australia's own Thorts is a friend of UGF. He's always happy to share his work with us and refers countless other folks over for promo posts as well, always great music and always great people. His credentials are solid as hell in the indie world as well, he's done songs with everyone from Fang Over Fist's master beatsmith Whatever Cecil to Staplemouth. Pretty much if you and I like even a little bit of the same music you already like Thorts, whether or not you know it.
My only real issue (although it's actually made reviewing much easier for the 60 hour work week dudes like myself) is the length of his releases. I at least like everything he puts out but I often find myself really wanting a nice meaty helping of his quirky / dark personality and excellent taste in production, he does tend to put out a lot of nice bite sized offerings but often not long enough to really fall in to. We last got that with 2020's Weightlifters with Smokey131 which was as refreshing and different as it was dope and dark. If you don't have it yet, give that one a listen here. We get it again on Hanky Man. This is indeed the one.
France's Haunted Days is a great producer as well, I don't want to leave out that fact. I knew this already from their work with Variex on the "Barbwire Necklace" remix with Witches Teat, but this album to me really showcased the beauty and complexity of their compositions. Rarely have I encountered a more "visual" producer. These beats evoke imagery both weird and stunning, and you need to experience that to really get the point I'm trying to make, so here's what they did to someone else's psyche:
So put them together and we have Hanky Man. Thort's old soul aesthetic, darkly comic viewpoint and willingness to be brutally honest (to the point of being a little gross, like on the title track but we forgive him because that shit was funny) pair perfectly with Haunted Days scratchy, dreamy and melodic soundscapes. This album is one of those rare treats where you're really sad when it ends. I don't have much else to say except that the guest roster is perfect, it doesn't rely to heavily on other talent but it makes great use of the cast it has (Nolto especially is as always phenomenal on "Dense", a sociopolitical tirade which is sadly more timely than ever).
Give this a try. I think if you want to get to know Thorts, grab a pair of headphones, your psychoactive of choice (or lack of one of choice), close your eyes and hit play. There's enough that's good here for any fan of hip hop to truly find something they love.
The whole thing drops March 4th, but preorder a cassette at El Gran E Records here (these guys are knocking it out of the park lately... And they've got a Noah23 album coming soon...) if you're outside Australia and get a digital copy here for those of you closer to Thort's home base (but no cassettes anymore...). Damn that wound up being a very complicated sentence. Whatever, I'm tired it's Monday night. Buy the album!
I gotta do it. I have to at least mention what's happening over in Europe. I wish I could do more but I just want to express solidarity with the Ukrainian people (I am one at least partly), express admiration for the way they've stood up and held on to their homeland and ask myself if I were in that situation if I could do what they have. It's a blessing that we rarely have to fight for the freedom we take for granted in the Western world. But too often I think it makes me forget just how precious it is, and how quickly it can be taken away by paranoid authoritarians and the people who think those dictators are wonderful geniuses.
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