CD reviews: Dream Theatre

Rap-rock collaborations might inherently offer the twin danger of bravado and bombast, yet this debut studio album by Banks & Steelz, the pet project of Interpol singer Paul Banks and Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, manages to avoid some of the cliches.

That said, there is still a boom-boom-crack predictability to some rhythms (Sword In The Stone is perhaps the worst offender).

However, when the duo dispense with tropes and allow the glitchiness of electronica to enter the fray, the backdrops to the lyricism come alive, pulsing with sullen unease (Giant, Ana Electronic, Wild Season feat Florence Welch).

Perhaps best filed under "missed opportunity".

 Banks & Steelz. Anything But Words. Warner Music. 

Three stars (out of five)

Single download: Wild Season
For those who like: Cypress Hill, Gorillaz

Shane Gilchrist

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