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Fruitonica · 08-02-2009, 08:05 AM

Released 2008, Doomtree Records.

Mineshaft 02:54
Everything Floats 02:44
Press On 02:14
551 03:40
Kites 03:32
Veteran 2:43
Cubano 3:00

Female MC's are a pretty rare breed, even after you drag yourself out of the misogynistic dross of mainstream rap. So when I stumbled accross Dessa after reading she was POS's ex, I immediately went looking for her EP. And it took thirty seconds into the first track to know I was onto a gem, that kills just about every other hip hop I've come accross this year.

Mineshaft is the perfect intro opening with flowing violins and a glitchy CD skip, injecting some negative space into the rhythm. We hear her whisper a warning, "To the bottom of the mineshaft" and away we go. Twenty mintues will not be enough.
To begin with, Dessa has a delightful voice. Clear and precise, but with soft edges and an effortlessly nimble delivery. Mineshaft begins at a spoken word pace, and quickens as subtle layers are added to the beat, midway through verse two she has reached a tongue fraying velocity without losing any clarity. This building speed is integral to the song, and the ease she plays with tempo is the mark of a consumate rapper. When it comes to the chorus she sings some damn catchy hooks as well.

Next up comes Everything Floats, featuring Doomtree comrade Cecil Otter. A blend of keys and strings strikes a far more menacing tone, but lyrically, it continues the theme that Mineshaft began. This is a very dark album, not El-P 'end of the world' dark, but a startling personal depth of unhappiness, apathy and resignation underpins False Hopes. She paints us a vivid picture of a mind wracked with hopeless depression, and Otter takes us outside to watch the self destruction.

"See it's nobodies fault her inner child drowned
In a river, while she cried deeper and(?)
Hmm, I think I'll swim a while"

Thankfully, her confessional poetry is lashed with some lovely lines and a great sense of humour, not that it brightens the mood much, we all know the feeling of being torn between tears and laughter. It's not a good one."I'm not a writer, I just drink a lot about it."

Press On is a bit of a black sheep amongst the tracks, the most upbeat moment in the bleakness, with a very bouncy beat and chorus and an almost battle rap aesthetic to the lyrics, although Dessa takes plenty of shots at herself amongst the aggrandisement. Sims has a solid guest verse, and overall it's a decent track but one of the weaker of the bunch, especially because it has a fairly forgettable hook on a song that needs one quite desperately.
We get back to the gloom with 551, with opens with an oddly muffled beat over some swirling background before the piano riff kicks in and Dessa spins a narrative of (once again) a hopelessly depressed woman and the breakdown of a relationship.

"She's a latter-day saint, but she's a Saturday sinner
Suicide sunday for desert, weekends drinking her dinner
The worry keeps her slender the pills keep her awake
Her man can't make her happy but he helps to still the shakes."
And if you can stand the sentimentality, the chorus is just lovely and the best example of her beautifully melodic singing voice.

Kites, is a soft, dreamy piece with sung with an understated, performance from Dessa. I'm liking it quite a lot right now, but normally it just floats past me in a haze during the course of the album and truthfully I thought it was much shorter until I looked at it's length a moment ago.

Veteran ramps the energy levels back up and is a totally stellar track, in particular the sinuous wailing horn and little jangles of chimes in the beat. Dessa's delivery here is much more forceful than previous entries, and the chorus, despite being a bit of a downer tone wise, sinks into your mind and makes you hum along.
The EP ends with Cubano, another great track with lovely mellow piano based production and Dessa's shifting tempo washing back and forwards in a brilliant demonstration of flow. Once again their is a disparity between the relatively happy music and the resolutely depressive lyrics, including this little gem which manages to distil the essence of False Hope's identity.

Cause a little bit of melancholy,
Never did hurt anybody,
Even if it is a sickness, I'm oddly convinced,
At least it's honest.
When life gets so tragic comic,
A mattress with no sheets on it,
The fact is you have it, the task is to want it.

08-02-2009, 08:05 AM	#19 (permalink)
Fruitonica Pale and Wan Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Aus Posts: 917	Released 2008, Doomtree Records. Mineshaft 02:54 Everything Floats 02:44 Press On 02:14 551 03:40 Kites 03:32 Veteran 2:43 Cubano 3:00 Female MC's are a pretty rare breed, even after you drag yourself out of the misogynistic dross of mainstream rap. So when I stumbled accross Dessa after reading she was POS's ex, I immediately went looking for her EP. And it took thirty seconds into the first track to know I was onto a gem, that kills just about every other hip hop I've come accross this year. Mineshaft is the perfect intro opening with flowing violins and a glitchy CD skip, injecting some negative space into the rhythm. We hear her whisper a warning, "To the bottom of the mineshaft" and away we go. Twenty mintues will not be enough. To begin with, Dessa has a delightful voice. Clear and precise, but with soft edges and an effortlessly nimble delivery. Mineshaft begins at a spoken word pace, and quickens as subtle layers are added to the beat, midway through verse two she has reached a tongue fraying velocity without losing any clarity. This building speed is integral to the song, and the ease she plays with tempo is the mark of a consumate rapper. When it comes to the chorus she sings some damn catchy hooks as well. Next up comes Everything Floats, featuring Doomtree comrade Cecil Otter. A blend of keys and strings strikes a far more menacing tone, but lyrically, it continues the theme that Mineshaft began. This is a very dark album, not El-P 'end of the world' dark, but a startling personal depth of unhappiness, apathy and resignation underpins False Hopes. She paints us a vivid picture of a mind wracked with hopeless depression, and Otter takes us outside to watch the self destruction. "See it's nobodies fault her inner child drowned In a river, while she cried deeper and(?) Hmm, I think I'll swim a while" Thankfully, her confessional poetry is lashed with some lovely lines and a great sense of humour, not that it brightens the mood much, we all know the feeling of being torn between tears and laughter. It's not a good one."I'm not a writer, I just drink a lot about it." Press On is a bit of a black sheep amongst the tracks, the most upbeat moment in the bleakness, with a very bouncy beat and chorus and an almost battle rap aesthetic to the lyrics, although Dessa takes plenty of shots at herself amongst the aggrandisement. Sims has a solid guest verse, and overall it's a decent track but one of the weaker of the bunch, especially because it has a fairly forgettable hook on a song that needs one quite desperately. We get back to the gloom with 551, with opens with an oddly muffled beat over some swirling background before the piano riff kicks in and Dessa spins a narrative of (once again) a hopelessly depressed woman and the breakdown of a relationship. "She's a latter-day saint, but she's a Saturday sinner Suicide sunday for desert, weekends drinking her dinner The worry keeps her slender the pills keep her awake Her man can't make her happy but he helps to still the shakes." And if you can stand the sentimentality, the chorus is just lovely and the best example of her beautifully melodic singing voice. Kites, is a soft, dreamy piece with sung with an understated, performance from Dessa. I'm liking it quite a lot right now, but normally it just floats past me in a haze during the course of the album and truthfully I thought it was much shorter until I looked at it's length a moment ago. Veteran ramps the energy levels back up and is a totally stellar track, in particular the sinuous wailing horn and little jangles of chimes in the beat. Dessa's delivery here is much more forceful than previous entries, and the chorus, despite being a bit of a downer tone wise, sinks into your mind and makes you hum along. The EP ends with Cubano, another great track with lovely mellow piano based production and Dessa's shifting tempo washing back and forwards in a brilliant demonstration of flow. Once again their is a disparity between the relatively happy music and the resolutely depressive lyrics, including this little gem which manages to distil the essence of False Hope's identity. Cause a little bit of melancholy, Never did hurt anybody, Even if it is a sickness, I'm oddly convinced, At least it's honest. When life gets so tragic comic, A mattress with no sheets on it, The fact is you have it, the task is to want it. Last edited by Fruitonica; 08-03-2009 at 07:39 AM.