A synapse-burning marvel of hip hop knowledge and glitch science, Scott Herren's second LP as Prefuse 73 confirms him as the underground Timbaland. One Word Extinguisher is an endlessly fascinating maze of sound. Frequently, it seems as if Herren has compacted the entire history of hip hop (plus plenty of R&B and jazz) on his hard drive, then cut and pasted them into ultra-dense new forms. As on his debut, he manages to combine the micro-detailing and radical kinetics of the best electronica with the thump and immediacy of classic hip hop. But the rap-mangling that characterised Vocal Studies+ Uprock Narratives has evolved into a sound that seems direct and graceful even as it explodes in a thousand fresh directions. This decade's Endtroducing..., possibly.

SAVE A THIRD!
WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO UNCUT!