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From the start of its bomb-dropping opening track, "The Return," you can immediately hear what makes State of the Art different than the rest of the Hilltop Hoods' back catalog: musicians. Not the full orchestra they employed on The Hard Road: Restrung, although the classical influence does show up a few times, but rather guitar and bass and drums. Members of fellow Adelaide band Lowrider as well as other instrumentalists are scattered throughout State of the Art like toppings on a pizza. The chipmunk soul that came to define the Hoods (and a lot of Australian hip-hop in their wake) is gone. They still use the stop/pause/BAM pattern they specialize in -- they're still recognizable -- but there's been definite forward momentum. What else is new? A big fancy guest star, for one thing. Pharoahe Monch shows up on the killer "Classic Example," which is full of lines about how they're hot to death like Joan of Arc and "Bringin' this shit that got your hands clappin'/Swingin' my dick like Dr. Manhattan." Their favorite topic -- drinking -- does get a track devoted to it as usual, but this time it's about partying yourself to death like their idols have rather than just being another ode to beer guzzling. Appropriately, it's called "Chris Farley." The storytelling they're best at, previously seen in over the top fantasies like "The Sentinel," emerges on "Parade of the Dead," a homage to George A. Romero's zombie movies complete with the boys surviving a siege and making inventive use of a chainsaw. They finish with "Fifty in Five," which finds MC Suffa recounting the last 50 years' worth of bad news in a downbeat manner oddly reminiscent of the Edge in U2's "Numb," only less sleepy-sounding. Although State of the Art isn't quite an instant classic like The Calling, it's certainly a step up from The Hard Road.
© Jody Macgregor /TiVo
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Mark Olson, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Gilbert Bridges, ComposerLyricist - Peter Hoorelbeke, ComposerLyricist - Edward Guzman, ComposerLyricist - Raymond Monette, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist - Debris, Producer
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - William C Brown III, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist - John G Williams, ComposerLyricist - Dale Ossman Warren, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Christian Huber, Producer - Suffa, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Henry Lawes, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Pharoahe Monch, FeaturedArtist - T. Jamerson, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Mark Ali Potsic, ComposerLyricist - DJ Nu-Mark, Producer - Suffa, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Trials, FeaturedArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist - D. Rankine, ComposerLyricist - Ernie Joseph Orosco, ComposerLyricist - Cory Orosco, ComposerLyricist - Brian Faith, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
John Hill, ComposerLyricist - Daniel Smith, ComposerLyricist - Suffa, Producer, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Hilltop Hoods, MainArtist - Matthew Lambert, ComposerLyricist - Barry Francis, ComposerLyricist - Dan Cochrane, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
Album review
From the start of its bomb-dropping opening track, "The Return," you can immediately hear what makes State of the Art different than the rest of the Hilltop Hoods' back catalog: musicians. Not the full orchestra they employed on The Hard Road: Restrung, although the classical influence does show up a few times, but rather guitar and bass and drums. Members of fellow Adelaide band Lowrider as well as other instrumentalists are scattered throughout State of the Art like toppings on a pizza. The chipmunk soul that came to define the Hoods (and a lot of Australian hip-hop in their wake) is gone. They still use the stop/pause/BAM pattern they specialize in -- they're still recognizable -- but there's been definite forward momentum. What else is new? A big fancy guest star, for one thing. Pharoahe Monch shows up on the killer "Classic Example," which is full of lines about how they're hot to death like Joan of Arc and "Bringin' this shit that got your hands clappin'/Swingin' my dick like Dr. Manhattan." Their favorite topic -- drinking -- does get a track devoted to it as usual, but this time it's about partying yourself to death like their idols have rather than just being another ode to beer guzzling. Appropriately, it's called "Chris Farley." The storytelling they're best at, previously seen in over the top fantasies like "The Sentinel," emerges on "Parade of the Dead," a homage to George A. Romero's zombie movies complete with the boys surviving a siege and making inventive use of a chainsaw. They finish with "Fifty in Five," which finds MC Suffa recounting the last 50 years' worth of bad news in a downbeat manner oddly reminiscent of the Edge in U2's "Numb," only less sleepy-sounding. Although State of the Art isn't quite an instant classic like The Calling, it's certainly a step up from The Hard Road.
© Jody Macgregor /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:46:06
- Main artists: Hilltop Hoods
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd.
- Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
© 2018 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd. ℗ 2018 Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd.
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