Widely credited as the man who bought out the melodic side and toned down the chaos of the many limbed mass that is Broken Social Scene, Andrew Whiteman has, until recently, maintained that The Apostle of Hustle was his main project. However, in a recent interview with Canada’s Exclaim! he mentioned that the project had become more a labour of love. His third album under the Apostle of Hustle moniker, Eats Darkness started life as an EP of studio experiments, to be released as a gift to fans. As he recorded more material, Whiteman’s A+R man, a certain Mr. Kevin Drew, convinced him the record should be given a full release. Seizing the opportunity, Whiteman created what he sees as a meditation on violence, war and the everyday battles of life.Starting with a hail of gunfire and an ‘interesting’ and confrontational monologue about the hermaphroditic nature of the snake, the record soon moves in to familiar Apostle territory- slight Latino rhythms underpin the whirling guitar parts of ‘Easy Speaks’, while after a sinister rumbling intro strewn with trumpets ‘Soul Unwind’ reveals a sparkling indie-pop hook. Album highlights the bass-line driven ‘Xerxes’ and album closer ‘Blackberry’ both recreate the kind of sprightly melodic indie that Yo La Tengo do so well, the later built upon a fuzzy bass line and skittering drum rhythms that fade to a hushed vocal. There seems to be a summery positivity to the songs that is in a direct contradiction to the inclusion of a number of ‘skits’ on the record. At regular occasions gunshots and screams ring out and voices tell of Molotov cocktails, revolution and the creation of “music that people will be not only willing, but anxious to die to”. While they are intended to provide context for the record, the over reliance on these skits (they make up over a third of the albums tracks) actually serves to dilute the albums coherence.Clocking in at just over half an hour, it is remarkable that Apostle of Hustle manage to fit so many ideas into such a short period of time. Fitting in cuban infused rhythms, indie-pop hooks and dubby experimentalism as well as the numerous sound collages. Eats Darkness is at it’s best when Whiteman allows his melodic tendencies full reign. However, too often the tracks here lose their way: the meandering guitar of the title track is pretty but ultimately insubstantial, while ‘Perfect Fit’s self-indulgent electro dub noodlings are more filler than essential. While the genre hopping may help to ease the hard-working Whiteman’s creative itch, it gives Eats Darkness a rather schizophrenic feel as an album. 62% Apostle of Hustle on Myspace