Album Review: Urthboy - Smokey’s Haunt

From the outset, it's clear that Smokey's Haunt, the fourth solo album from The Herd's MC Urthboy, is a record with a vision. “There's some stories I can tell you,” says Urthboy in the chorus of the opening track (appropriately titled Stories), and that's exactly what he proceeds to do, with astounding elegance. 

Few MCs have as keen an eye for observing the landscape around them as Urthboy, and Smokey's Haunt offers a multitude of insights into his thoughts about Australia and its people. From his youthful remembrances in Knee Length Socks to the passionate politics of Empire Tags (“One corner of our flag is insecure”) and then to the inner-city lament of The Big Sleep, Urthboy takes stock of the damages and delights of the country that inspires him.

Cleopatra becomes so much more than an anti-pokies track when Urthboy steps inside the mind of a gambling addict and tells her story, aided by a terrifying beat that captures the tense, unrelenting atmosphere perfectly. Likewise, Hey Dianne is a beautiful study of a disintegrating relationship, flooding the festering paranoia hidden inside so many couples with clean light.

Every collaborator is on top form, particularly the talented production team, consisting of Elgusto, Luke Dubs (both of Hermitude) and Countbounce (TZU). Jane Tyrrell lends her voice to the haunting Glimpses and her artistic talent to the album art, while the newest member of the Elefant Traks family, Jimblah, shines in his two appearances.

The finale, the hidden track Cold Front, is a wonder – a sudden musical sucker-punch, awash with delicious swagger. Urthboy is clearly not done surprising us with the depths of his talent, and in Smokey's Haunt he has produced his most compelling work to date.