Reviewed by Andrew Coe

Barrowclough is a rapper fondly remembered for his work with hip-hop avant-guardists Michaelis Constant and this debut was released under the creative umbrella of Birmingham arts collective Zang Productions. This debut contains some deep and personal songs about life and faith, but also contains several comedic songs that do not really fit in with the rest of the album. 'Life On The Ground' presents a style of hip-hop similar to many modern rap and hip-hop artists, which has the vocals layered over drum loops, scratching records and electronic effects. The dark, haunting introduction to "Photophobia" works well but unfortunately this song, as with many others, hints at an interesting musical idea, only for the track to fall a bit flat with a rather generic rap. Several of the tracks try to be funny, such as "In Defence Of The War On Terror" arguing that terrorists are giving beards a bad name and so should be stopped. The best cut by far is "Inspiration", which presents a very realistic description of a character finding his life has no meaning and looking for something else, "18 years at this dusty desk/Looking for meaning to this life". The album ends with "The Resurrector" which is a real cacophony of loops and mixes and hints at what Barrowclough may be able to achieve on his next album.

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