Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - Angles (Sunday Best)

Genre-pushing types pigeonhole intelligent music as that which moves the mind, not the body. This, then, must be a new super-strain, as it is manages to do both. Somewhere between an audiobook, a dance album and a self-help manual, this record sees Pip have his say on every topic ever to be argued around a pub table: from bands selling out to the perils of capitalism, organised religion and youth crime. It’s an album for audience participation, asking you not just to listen but to think. Dan Le Sac’s production doesn’t just provide the perfect backing track for Scroobius’ riddlings, but also has it’s own moments of distinction. His self-penned beats are infectious, as are the shattered fragments of Radiohead in Letter From God to Man. The Dizzee Rascal-sampled Fixed goes on to see Pip cast a critical eye over the stagnant hip-hop production line. Some could say the pair are taking a risk in being so completely “of the moment”, but that is simply part of the album’s charm. So perfectly zeitgeist capturing is it, that even further down the line it will become a perfect account of our times. From the upbeat and ever popular Thou Shalt Always Kill to the tragic account of relationship breakdown in latest single Look for the Woman, the subject matter here is as varied as the audience it will appeal to. [Emma Kilday]