Beneath The Surface

AMAZON
That Beneath the Surface is not a worthy follow-up to the GZA's now-classic solo debut, Liquid Swords , is something of a conundrum. Consolidating his crown as the thinking man's Wu-Tang, Beneath the Surface is a solid combination of intelligent, entertaining lyrics, tight, dextrous delivery and catchy, inventive production. The album spans a wider menu of flavours than its predecessor--from the slow and laidback title track and Latino-guitar laced "Victim" to the more sinister, spine-tingling piano loop of "High Price, Small Reward" or the horrorcore finale of "Outro". "Publicity", a follow-up to his debut's "Labels", is distilled Wu-Tang, cobbled together from the sparsest bars of regal, oriental strings; "Hip Hop Fury" is just that: a frenetic blizzard of piano notes aggressively broken by the RZA's vocals. Nonetheless, with Beneath the Surface comes a mysterious whiff of mediocrity. Despite his undeniable talents, when placed beside his more colourful cohorts the GZA can seem somewhat drab. On an album with very little posturing and self-promotion, with some of the most earnest and po-faced skits ever committed to vinyl and with only a couple of tiny portraits hidden deep within the CD sleeve, what is striking is the author's anonymity. There are standout tracks, but it's easy to feel that while we hear a lot of talk, the GZA himself is both strangely absent and sorely missed. --Paul Philpott