LEVEL HEADED – The Spice of Life

By Kristian Smith

When it comes to Australian Hip Hop these days, there are obviously going to be comparisons made to Hilltop Hoods, and Level Headed’s debut album “The Spice of Life” is no exception, especially when Debris & Suffa lent their expertise on the sound for it. That being said, while there is a familiar feel to at least some of the tracks, this Album has no problem standing up on it’s own.

Like the title track suggests, this album is full of variety, not just in the rhyme styles and subject matter (‘Too Late Now’ is about a fictional High School massacre), but also the diversity of the killer beats made by producer Debate, plus two tracks with Adelaide metal band 8th Degree providing the heavy metal guitar sound, a-la-Judgement Night Soundtrack.

‘Down to Earth’ is the perfect tongue-in-cheek intro for the album which you can’t help but nod your head to, closely followed by ‘Bounce’, which is the first of a number of hands-in-the-air, party-chorus songs. Other stand out tracks include ‘Fat Tape’ which takes you back to a time before the digital revolution, ‘Blazing Skies’ with an almost climactic sound like ‘Lux Aeterna’ from Requiem for a Dream and smooth-flowing, good-time party anthems ‘Run’ and ‘The Hills’.

Unfortunately, the local Hip Hop sound can sometimes have either a try-hard American feel or, even worse, an Aussie “twang” sound in their voices. Thankfully, Level Headed treads that fine line with ease as he takes us on a journey through the hills with his crew: Debate, Hacksaw, Reason, Headlock, Eslev, Sydetrak and Train of Thought. Level Headed has dropped an album that strengthens the belief that Adelaide is the home of Hip Hop in Australia. Because like he says in the track ‘Double Header’ – “The Adelaide scene produced the blueprint”.