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2LP
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VFORM 038LP
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CD
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VFORM 038CD
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"Raised in the prairie city of Winnipeg but now based in Vancouver, 26-year-old McEnroe (not, as the man himself puts it, to be confused with that 'washed up tennis guy') offers a grainy, articulate and consistently provocative response to US alt.hip hop. In common with similarly predisposed countrymen Buck 65 and Sixtoo, McEnroe welds politically savvy, cliché-free rhymes to music whose bewitching sampledelic warp and weft is underpinned by a delirious retinue of skewed, raw but always mercilessly funky beats. No one trick pony, McEnroe is also the brains behind Vancouver's Peanuts & Corn label and is now established as a key player in the distribution and dissemination of hip hop across Canada. It comes as no surprise, then, to find many of his lyrics taking a brutally satirical dissecting knife to the more questionable machinations of the music biz, while simultaneously hymning the isolation and community of the Canadian hip hop scene. Influenced by artists as diverse as Public Enemy, De La Soul and Main Source, McEnroe has been cutting tracks since 1994 -- culminating in 2003's widely acclaimed, unapologetically political Disenfranchised album. 5 Years In The Factory extrapolates from there. Its musical highlights are many and various -- from the guttural wah-wah guitar/tablas/string samples that decorate the smooth-grooved 'One More Tomorrow' to the adroitly manipulated (Neptune's-style) music boxes of 'Dumb It Down' and the hypnotic, languid beats and magical toy pianos of 'Billy's Vision'. All-in-all, a cavalcade of right thinking, left-leaning wordage, radical rhythmic assaults and a luminous musicality that lodges instantly and permanently in the pleasure centers, 5 Years In The Factory is a bewitching addition to the Canadian hip hop canon. While Buck 65 and Sixtoo will be looking to their laurels, the wider hip hop universe should also now be on full alert."
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12"
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VFORM 036EP
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"His first UK release, 'Working In The Factory' is a compelling introduction to the man, with a typically mordant, sinuously articulated lyric that ponders rose-colored nostalgia -- a time when 'life was in black and white and people knew wrong from right... If your country went to war you'd sign up in a minute...'. Underpinned by a languid, hypnotic backbeat, glistening electric pianos and an almost New Order-like bass line, 'Working In The Factory' is a mellow, reflective gem with burning righteousness in its soul. Imagine a more intense De La Soul, or a Pacific coast The Streets and you're getting close, though you just need to open your ears to realize that McEnroe's deal is a unique and undeniable thing -- not just the sum of tasteful influences. A 12" only release (though the lead track it's set to appear on McEnroe's forthcoming Five Years In The Factory album), the single is backed with an instrumental 'Working In The Factory', plus two versions of the wry-but-slammin', double bass propelled 'Party People' -- the vocal version features a fresh, tongue-twisting delivery, while the instrumental explores hitherto uncharted dub/jazz/groove vistas."
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