Shudderbug - "Who's Ya' Daddy"
Independent release

Shudderbug does a great energetic hip-hop rock thing. There’s a nice variety of songs with some like "Give It Again" hitting pretty hard, while others like "Fade" are very laid back and mellow.

This CD is also a bit more funky than the majority of the rapcore or rap-rock that seems to be prevailing in the local scene right now. And with the addition of well-placed saxophone highlights, especially on songs like "Fade," Shudderbug shows that they don't necesarily need high speeds to really take off and soar.

The influences on this CD are interesting, and once again display the varied sounds one can find in Shudderbug's style. For example, you might find yourself hearing a bit of Public Enemy and Anthrax (a la Bring Tha Noise) on "Devil’s Toys" with its trade-off raps and metal riffs. The funk influences are brought to the forefront with the "Brick House" cover, which is pretty much a note-for-note cover, which probably could have benefited from some inovation or interpretation.

I have to admit, this CD took a while to grow on me. I didn’t particularly care for it at first, as it seemed a bit disjointed. But upon further listens, the songs flowed much better, and Who’s Ya’ Daddy found its way into my CD player more and more.