Press
Press
30-Oct-2008
Irish Times Interview
MJEX interview - Irish Times, 31/10/08
29-Oct-2008
Daily Star FROM THE WORD GO Review
Rating: ****
Reviewer: Shilpa Ganatra
28-Oct-2008
Belfast Telegraph FROM THE WORD GO Review
The delightfully named Messiah J And The Expert tell it like it is.On their new and third record the Dublin-born duo pull no punches as they bluntly lament the state of the world we live in - credit crunches, domestic brutality, phony politics, broken promises et al. Using stark imagery and cutting lyrics, they also explore typical middle-age talking points such as wasted youth and the frighteningly rapid onslaught of technology. Unlike other hip-hop/rap orientated acts, there's no ghetto vernacular - to be fair it isn't needed. The Messiah J sermonises his message in a more informative and rational way while The Expert gets the most potent effect out of the music by traversing a whole raft of genres - disco-soul (the brilliant 'Turn The Magic On') funk ('Megaphone Man') reggae ('Amnesia Comes Easily') and rock/pop (Jean Is Planning An Escape'). Aided by a strong string and brass section From The word Go is an album of real quality - and hope.
Rating: ****
Reviewer: Nigel Gould
28-Oct-2008
Entertainment.ie FROM THE WORD GO Review
With their last album, 2006's Choice-nominated Now This You Have to Hear, Dublin-based hip-hop duo Messiah J & The Expert
not only rooted themselves in the consciousness of the Irish
music-buying public, but made steps towards becoming a more diverse
musical act in the process. You may not have heard the pair's
intelligent, memorable, and often slapdash medleys on the radio that
often - but that could be set to change with this, their third
full-length offering.
For starters, there are a number of potential hits here: the buzzy, funky creativity of Megaphone Man, the smooth soul duet (with female vocalist Joanne Daly) of Amnesia Comes Easily, The Bill-meets-Doctor Who-theme-tune vibe of Jean Is Planning An Escape, or the slick funk of The Year of the Genie are all fluid, rhythmic delights that are bursting with eclecticism and creativity. Geography,
too, is a particular standout, with Kieran and Ro of indie heroes
Delorentos providing the chorus to a heady concoction of samples,
beats, synths and brilliant key changes.
Messiah J has also opened his eyes and lyric notebook to the wider
world this time 'round: from domestic abuse to political apathy, he
captures the essence of each topic he raps about succinctly and often
not without beauty or humour (see ode-to-growing-older Turn the Noise Down, or the rousing Tomorrow Is Too Late).
Hip-hop, and especially Irish hip-hop, is often unfairly dismissed
as something of a trivial genre, or simply music that soundtracks a
gathering of skangers on street corners. Messiah J & The Expert are
one of the acts doing their damndest to turn that notion on its head,
and with From the Word Go, they do so not only convincingly, but with stunning style and aplomb.
Rating: ****
Reviewer: Lauren Murphy
28-Oct-2008
Metro FROM THE WORD GO Review
28-Oct-2008
Ragged Words FROM THE WORD GO Review
“Attention… ahem… Give me your attention,” appeals Messiah J on ‘Megaphone Man’ and with he and the Expert’s third album From The Word Go, it’s impossible not to sit up and take note. Bigger and bolder than before with knowing, swaggering self-confidence, the Dublin duo have taken the ever-dangerous genre juggling gamble and can duly cash in handsomely. Combining big hip hop beats, funky bass, warping electronics, guitar riffs and the most soulful grooves since Back To Black, this should be a sensory overload. To the pair’s enormous credit, it’s anything but.
They begin (‘Year Of The Genie’) with the single most crashing opening to a hip hop record since Handsome Boy Modelling School’s ‘Rock n’ Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) and conclude with poignant piano and strings (‘The Predicament’). In between they swoon (‘Turn The Magic On’/ ‘Amnesia Comes Easily’), spine-tinglingly ponder (‘Tomorrow Is Too Late’), have something of an aural freak out (‘Looking For a Long Term Thing’) and a whole lot of fun besides (‘Geography’/ ‘Guess You Had To Be There’). The reason it works is simple, it’s ermm, simplicity.
In resisting the urge to overindulge, The Expert is on supreme form throughout. He’s got tricks a plenty – the above-mentioned opening will have you reaching for the volume button to the detriment of your ears seconds later – but keeps them in check. For one, the hook lavished on the should-be-massive soulful pop of ‘Turn The Magic On’ is sensational with the Winehouse allusion more than warranted on the equally should-be-massive vocal talents of Leda Egri. Not to be ignored, Messiah J similarly responds, returning a more thoughtful lyricist. Bent on touching subjects as relatable as possible - politics, responsibility, connections – even Joe The Plumber couldn’t feel left out.
Together MJEX have continued the handy knack of outdoing themselves. Where the debuting What’s Confusing You seemed to be found out somewhat once Now This I Have to Hear arrived three years on, From The Word Go makes it’s predecessor almost feel like a relic. It’s not, it’s just the initial price of progression and Messiah J & The Expert show no signs of slowing down.
Rating: ****
Reviewer: Padraic Halpin
28-Oct-2008
Sputnik Music FROM THE WORD GO Review
Summary: From The Word Go is every bit the record it threatened to be: a challenging but accessible rap triumph. Rating: 4.5/5 Reviewer: Dave Da Silva
Proverb
says it’s better to build a solid foundation first and make aesthetic
changes later, and that’s exactly what Dublin hip hop duo Messiah J
& The Expert achieved with Now This I Have To Hear, their second record, in 2006. Now This I Have To Hear
was a great record in its own right; not only did it showcase a wide
range of musical influences from east coast rap to alt. rock and funky
soul, the album set the group apart as a unique commodity in arguably
the fastest-moving genre in music, their sombre tones and genre-bending
aesthetic becoming instantly identifiable to all but the most detached
listener. Yet Now This I Have To Hear was always meant to be the basic building blocks of the MJEX sound, and it’s with From The Word Go
that the group have emerged as a genuinely world-class act, making
subtle additions and improvements upon their earlier style while
maintaining its essential character. Evolution, not revolution, is the
order of the day, and rarely has science sounded so interesting.
From the word go, literally, the album exudes a more self-confident
tone than its predecessor. Tempo-wise, it’s much more upbeat and
aggressive, from the furious four-to-the-floor beat of ‘Jean Is
Planning An Escape’ to the tongue-twisting rhymes of ‘Panic Station’
and vitriolic opener ‘Year Of The Genie.’ ‘Jean Is Planning An Escape’
is the heaviest track on the record in more ways than one; thumping
bass and pulsating synth melody in tow, Messiah J explores the delicate
issue of domestic abuse with compassion and intelligence, noting that “all her friends say ‘go, Jean, go,’” but in the end only she can choose to end the cycle of abuse: ”Jean is coming to her own conclusion.” ‘Tomorrow Is Too Late’ provides the clearest link to Now This I Have To Hear-
in fact, the gloomy, acoustic track could very well be an outtake from
that album- a straightforward narrative of a nervy encounter with a
homeless man that turns into a thought-provoking call to activism and
awareness.
Long-term collaborators Leda Egri (she of ‘Something Outta Nothing’
fame) and Joanne Daly (who lent sultry vocals to ‘Bone Collector’) are
on hand to help give birth to two of the album’s two clear highlights:
‘Turn The Magic On’ and ‘Amnesia Comes Easily.’ ‘‘Turn The Magic’ is
unconsciously very reminiscent of the Cure, matching a classic
clipped-funk guitar sequence in the style of the Meters with breezy
synthesised strings and emphatic trumpets. Lyrically, it ties together
the album’s dominant themes, friendship and commitment, with the lines:
“we turn the magic on / though we never really get together, I remember when we get together.”
Another highlight, ‘Geography,’ which features Kieran and Ro of indie
rockers Delorentos on lead chorus vocals, takes on the long distance
angle with less optimism, noting: ”we can't compete with borders,
mountains and dangerous waters, oceans and shores / we can't afford
long-haulers, spatial restraining orders, long distance calls,
[Geography is] greater than anything you feel.”
Evidence of the pair’s improved telekinetic connection is evident on
tracks like ‘Panic Station,’ where the early feeling is all ‘60s
psychedelia with fluttering synths and furious chord stabs, but soon it
reverts to a fiercely melodic two-tone ska riff. ‘Looking For A Long
Term Thing’ is no less ambitious in its effort to blend the
unblendable, delicately interweaving passages of ‘Born Slippy’-style
trance keyboards with a crunchy psychedelic proto-metal bassline, while
‘Geography’ finds the middle ground between Bond theme and drum n’ bass
club banger by way of a scrambled string section reminiscent of Britney
Spears’ evergreen classic ‘Toxic.’
Whereas in the past Messiah J has been most comfortable as the
dispassionate storyteller, here he writes primarily in the
first-person, and his lyrics cut that bit deeper as a result. On
‘Looking For A Long Term Thing,’ he delivers a stinging rebuke to
people who can’t or won’t keep their promises, ”don’t
make a five-year plan if you’re going to do two / Don’t give your wife
your hand if you’re going to screw whoever you like.” On ‘Year Of The Genie,’ he vents his frustration at the posturing of that universal evil- the politician- enquiring, ”is it a scam folks? A damn hoax? We're waiting / Because they seem to be aping the ones they think need replacing.”
Similarly, lead single ‘Megaphone Man’ explores the futility of the
political system from the other side, inventing the title’s character
to say all the things he wishes he had the courage or the knowledge, or
both, to say out loud and proud. All in all, Messiah J has trimmed the
fat from his songwriting; he writes less, and repeats himself more, but
now each line is as indispensible as the last- surely the mark of a
special one, no?
From The Word Go is every bit the record it threatened to be:
challenging yet accessible; diverse yet coherent; serious yet playful;
pop but not pop. More than that, it’s as thoughtful and intricate an
album as has been released in 2008 and one that is bound to win the
band many admirers at home and abroad, upon its UK release in January.
28-Oct-2008
Sunday Tribune FROM THE WORD GO Review
Messiah J & The Expert are without a doubt the kings of Irish
hip-hop; experimental, musically and lyrically diverse, devoid of the
watering down of hip-pop, and they keep going. Here's another great
record from the duo, the follow-up to the Choice Music Prize-nominated
'Now This I Have To Hear'. More eclectic than their previous albums,
'From The Word Go' doesn't stop from, well, the word 'go', I suppose.
The pace is relentless, music is hurled in every direction – funk,
light drum and bass rhythms (on 'Geography' which also features vocals
from Delorentos), horns everywhere, guitars, and some nice female
vocals. Lyrically, it straddles a playful discourse and a far deeper
examination of life; the bridge between youth and manhood, and a heavy
final track about unplugging a life-support machine. Torso, shoulders
and head above anyone else doing a similar thing in Ireland. Rating: **** Download: 'Looking For A Long Term Thing', 'Keep The Noise Down', 'Geography' Reviewer: Una Mullaly
28-Oct-2008
U Magazine FROM THE WORD GO review
14-Oct-2008
Hot Press FROM THE WORD GO Review
The opening 'The Year Of The Genie' was put on repreat six times before I even moved on to the rest of the album. Can I call it a classic? I think I will.Despite being described as funk, hip hop, reggae and psychedelic, MJEX are hard to pigeonhole but they needn't worry about that as From The Word Go is an exciting, innovative, air-punching, heart-pumping alubum. Since their last Choice Music Prize nominated outing Now This I Have To Hear, they've waded through albums by Marvin Gaye, The Clash, The Zombies and Parliament, all good sources for inspiration. The lead single 'Megaphone Man' is 2 minutes 42 seconds of sublime pop, which I predict will fill many a dancefloor across this country, followed by one of the best bass lines I've heard in ages in 'Keep The Noise Down', a song about turning into what you though you wouldn't.
Other highlights include 'Jean Is Planning An Escape'. which could be a Bond theme and the gospelesque commentary of the state of the world today, 'Geography'. The pace of thealbum hardly leaves you time to catch your breath, but Joanne Daly's beautiful vocal on 'Amnesia Comes Easily' is just plain stunning. With so many generic rock bands out there, MJEX create a listening landscape that's totally different, maybe even challenging at times, but I for one am thankful they're producing records like this. As they say themselves "We can turn the magic on", and they have.
Rating: ****
Download: Geography
Reviewer: Alison Curtis
14-Oct-2008
Sunday Business Post FROM THE WORD GO Review
Messiah J & The Expert might be Ireland's top hip-hop proponents but poetry from Dublin's streets delivered in vaguely comedic American accents isn't keeping it entirely real. Still, MJEX's success has been built on their myriad, and not necessarily rap-based, influences, and their apparently limitless innovation and imagination - which has never been more to the fore than on this, their third album.
Lyrically, they've surpassed their impressive achievements on the Choice-nominated Now This I Have To Hear, with incisive political rhyme and sharply ethical reason; musically, this album has taken them to another level altogether. It's a tightly delivered collection which somehow gels brilliantly, in spite of its heady leaps from soul to R&B, reggae to electronica, taking in endless rhythms and copious samples on the way. Stand-outs like the stomping Megaphone Man, the funky Turn The Magic On and the magnificent Geography, featuring Delorentos, are light years ahead of the pack.
Rating: ****
Download: Geography
Reviewer: Johnnie Craig
14-Oct-2008
The Irish Times FROM THE WORD GO Review
Three could well be the magic number for this Irish hip-hop duo - their third album hits all the right buttons with breezy, cocky gusto.
Messiah J & The Expert's Now This I Have to Hear (2006) was rich with bravado and smart tunes, but they surpass themselves here. There's Turn the Magic On , a tune that wouldn't sound out of place with any radio-friendly pop-rap that has had millions spent on it, thanks to Leda Egri's sultry vocals and a wonderful strung-out melody.
Looking for a Long Term Thing contains so many heartfelt lyrical gems that you're practically tripping over them. With From the Word Go , MJEX possess the wherewithal to join in any game that takes their fancy. One of the boldest and brightest humdingers of the year.
Rating:****
JIM CARROLL
Download tracks: Turn the Magic On , Looking for a Long Term Thing
10-Oct-2008
Sputnik Music MJEX Feature
Abum preview plus interview on Sputnik Music
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/
09-Oct-2008
State Magazine FROM THE WORD GO Review
First Reviews And Press For New Album
Nice album review and interview in the October edition of State
magazine which is now FREE. Check out their super fancy online version
where you can read both review of FROM THE WORD GO and the interview.
http://www.state.ie/blog/state-issue-7-the-details/
