"Undeniable"
According to Terror Danjah’s MySpace, ‘he’s not as well known as Wiley or Dizzee Rascal, but he’s considered by the grime cognoscenti to be the best grime producer ever.’
Well, double points for honesty, and use of the word ‘cognoscenti’.
Indeed, Undeniable is not quite on the same level of accessibility as Terror Danjah’s contemporaries. However, it’s still most certainly listenable, even if you’re not exactly (like myself), a discerning grime fan.
Terror Danjah’s ability to lay down a rhythm is the backbone of the album, and it’s on instrumental tracks like Acid and S.O.S that his ability to intersect, chop and change, and push and pull comes into the limelight, and his beats are ultimately more interesting to concentrate on than the sometimes dubious lyrics.
There’s a slickness and sense of momentum and urgency that runs through
Undeniable that gives it that cut-above-the-rest grime feel. The lower-tempo tracks provide a more sinister feel, acting as a precursor to the more explosive tracks that follow.
The vocal tracks give a nod to a more accessible, radio friendly, garage sound, but there’s plenty of experimentation and genre-hopping going on across the album, from heavy synths to bleepy minimalism. ‘This Year (Pro Plus)’ has the vocals, synth melody and chorus to make it a hit, as does the title track, and the Faithless-esque ‘Leave Me Alone’. The female vocals of Lauren Mason are a refreshing change in the brooding ‘All I Wanna’, in the more mellow middle section of the album.
At fifteen tracks, despite the variety, Undeniable is a bit of a long haul, and perhaps would’ve benefited from a bit of streamlining, moving the focus away from the hits and more onto what Terror Danjah does best.
Self-assured in style, and far from lacking in substance, Undeniable is a confident, feisty record that, grime fan or otherwise, will impart a bit of its swagger into your life. A high bench-mark for Wiley and co.
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