Fist of God

Album review

The difference in the basic sound of MSTRKRFT's first album, Looks, and the follow-up, Fist of God, isn't huge. Both are built around buzzing old-school synths, thunderous drums, and jumpy, floor-filling disco and robo-funk. It's the stuff they put on top that makes for the gulf in quality. Looks was based on a gimmick that could either tickle you or wear you down and have you wincing in pain by the end of the record -- namely, the vocoder that the duo of Al-P and Jesse F. Keeler utilized throughout. Regardless of where you fall on the vocoder good/bad spectrum, the use of it gave the record a homemade, semi-wonky feel that is totally missing from Fist of God. This is a painfully serious and real album from the awful cover art to the rampant guest appearances, which are comprised of a mix of A, B, and C-list artists including Ghostface Killah, E-40, Freeway, N.O.R.E., and Jahmal Tonge of Toronto band the Carps. Barely any of the guests add anything more than a name; most sound like they just happened to wander by the studio and were roped in for a chorus or verse. Ghostface especially sounds out of place on the formulaic "Word Up" and N.O.R.E.'s feature, "Bounce," is an embarrassingly vacant party track. The two tracks featuring Jahmal are a little better since the singer sounds somewhat invested in the tracks; unfortunately, his vocals are not very distinctive and the songs are melody free (though "Breakaway" has a cheeky breakdown with a nice C+C Music Factory feel). The only collabo that really bangs is "It Ain't Love," which matches a storming rhythm track with a fiery vocal from Lil' Mo. Maybe it's that the duo has no affinity for rap and contemporary R&B -- the track with John Legend certainly seems to bear this out -- but the pairing here sound forced and mercenary. It would be nice to report that the songs with no vocals were enough to make the album listenable, but they aren't. "1000 Cigarettes" is probably the best marriage of beats and hooks to be found, but it still sounds like a track Daft Punk or Justice would have cut from their albums for being too obvious and desperate. MSTRKRFT positively reek of desperation on Fist of God -- desperate to party, desperate to be cool, desperate to have fun all the time at all costs. All the charm and fun to be found of Looks ends up being pulverized by this bland ambition, and Fist of God ends up being just a loud, inspiration-free, truly disappointing dance album that fails to capture ears or move feet.

© Tim Sendra /TiVo