Roadkill Overcoat
Regan Farquhar has steadily climbed the ranks of underground hip-hop's thesaurus-toting klatch since the turn of the millennium, andRoadKillOvercoatonly cements his position as both the most charismatic and the most prolific of the sub-genre's loquacious purveyors. Having released numerous singles and almost annual full-lengths on a number of labels since 2000, Farquhar (a.k.a. Busdriver) joins SoCal's formidable Epitaph Records withRoadKillOvercoat. Opener "Casting Agents and Cowgirls" sets the tone, Busdriver's rapid-fire verses bolstered by instrumental steroid-infusions from production partners DJ Nobody andBoom-Bip. Between the thick slabs of overcrowded rhyme that mark Busdriver'smodus operandi,RoadKillOvercoatthrows listeners a meaty bone in the form of the surprisingly melodic choruses ("Less Yes's, More No's," "Mr. Mistake," lead single "Kill Your Employer") that stud more than half of these tracks. Lyrically, Busdriver's attention fluctuates between a steady diet of wordy near-nonsense ("The Troglodyte Wins") and poser-smashing machismo ("Pompous Posies! Your Party's No Fun!"), but he knows his audience well, and the addition of Nobody and Boom-Bip adds a welcome, bumping sheen to the verbal hailstorm. In all, this is well-read rap that skates the line between density and opaqueness with more subtle skill than its over-the-top appearances let on. --Jason Kirk