Indie-rap is like the mirror image of old-school hip-hop — instead of using hook-heavy rock choruses to help sell the rhyming, as was the case with the latter, we now have complicated spoken-word rhyming in anticipation of indie-rock choruses. Minnesotan MC/producer duo Eyedea and Abilities have pretty much perfected this formula, especially on the first four tracks of their third album, By The Throat. But with distorted bass lines, classic turntablism from DJ Abilities and occasional bursts of Dälek-lite noisiness backing the motor-mouthed rhymes of Eyedea (a.k.a. Micheal Larsen), the sum of their indie-rap components is hardly formulaic. Sure, Larsen’s lyrical content isn’t revolutionary (anti-gun, anti-fame, a cleverly articulated inner turmoil prompted by the modern world), and the production is nowhere near as adventurous as that of Subtle or Serengeti & Polyphonic, but there’s a decent mix of cleverness and earnestness that will grab you, if not by the throat, then at least by the ears.

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