The Neighbourhood take their hip-hop influences a step further with their new track ‘Hate Machine.’ Critically-acclaimed rapper Danny Brown makes an appearance on the group’s first new release since May. Take a listen to the band’s brand new song for a taste of indie rock and hip-hop smashing together.
When you hear the word ‘mixtape,’ your mind probably travels back to a time when kids wore leg warmers, Air Jordans and tenderly recorded a soul-baring mix of music on cassette for their crush who sat next to them in math class.
The Neighbourhood’s version is a little different. Alright, it’s absolutely nothing like this. Their mixtape, set for release soon, turns the genre on its head. Called #OOOOOO and #FFFFFF, it’s in the format of an album, but it’s totally free for anyone to download. The title, for all the computer code virgins out there, isn’t gobbledygook. It refers to the HTML codes for black and white.
It’s a fitting title for a band that makes their name off of messing around with synths, drum tracks and other electronic tinkering. Their newest track, ‘Hate Machine,’ dives into this more than ever with a spooky, robotic sound and layers of dense studio effects.
The track is pregnant with noisy distortion. The vocals wobble through synthetic, auto-tuned reverb, like a submarine moving through a static ocean. The first half of the track is forlorn and almost hesitant, but it erupts into a new genre altogether by the second half.
Danny Brown rips the track open with his signature flow. His words cut through the plunking doom rattle of the backing track with precision and unmistakable style. The faint patter of rain hitting concrete contrasts against the rest of the backing track as one of the song’s only organic sounds.
The lyrics live up to the track’s gloomy personality. As singer Jesse Ruthorford laments ‘You’re the only one, the only one, the only one for me,’ Brown slams the point with his musings on relationship woes.
The band’s next release is already garnering plenty of attention. The Neighbourhood released their debut album I Love You in 2013, which saw success in their first single ‘Sweater Weather.’ The group has since done number of performances, including at radio stations and SXSW.
The group is known for combining hip-hop influences with ethereal, southern California surf jams. The result is a disorienting mix of two styles of music that seem to clash and mesh all at once.
As the band prepares to release their mixtape, check out their latest work below:
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