There's no arguing with Illy's success.

Instrumental in transforming the sound of Australian hip hop over the past five years, the Melbourne MC (along with regular collaborator M-Phazes) has consistently brought an increased technical facility to the genre's mainstream with a combination of cutting-edge production, fluid vocal hooks and precise rhyming skill. But, even with one of the finer pedigrees of the genre's current proponents, he struggles to make an impression with his fifth album - the almost irritatingly competent Two Degrees.

The album is a comprehensive showcase of skill. M-Phazes' position as one of Australia's premiere beat exports remains unsurprising. The producer's backdrops effortlessly split the difference between commercial precision and artistic individualism. Illy, similarly, continues to establish himself as one of the most technically gifted MCs operating in the Australian hip hop mainstream. With equal grace, he can smoothly settle into a groove on cuts like Lightshow and pirouette over internal rhymes and triplet rhythms on joints like Looks Could Kill.

Unfortunately, Two Degrees rarely seems anything other than technically impressive. It's a lovely package. But, there's little of genuine substance or idiosyncrasy to the record. The songwriting is competent - but rarely genuinely striking or memorable. Illy, similarly, offers plenty of technique - but few of his lines or ideas seem to really land with a sense of weight or resonance. The whole affair feels a little too much like something you'd hear rumbling in the back of an advertisement targeted at 18-25 year olds.