A typical hip hop team might save two EP’s worth of material for one big exploitative piece. But, The Forcefield Kids are far from typical. They have an agenda and they stick to it. That is why their second EP, this year, Harmony & Discord was absolutely necessary. It is obviously too dark to fit the agenda of their prior release, Home. But, Newcastle’s finest duo have not lost their ability to drop flows with a shock and awe mentality.

Harmony & Discord is the hip hop equivalent of an open wound drowned in Isoprypol. The pain that vocalist Stain(ed) releases seems absolutely necessary for him to remain sane. The tantalizing track “Dancing With Death” is an entire WWII trunk of baggage spilling over a haunting bass and drum line. “Razorblades” is a hook heavy display of rhyming showmanship. This is a very personal release. At times it may feel like you are listening into a conversation you weren’t suppose to hear.

As aforementioned evidence proves, The Forcefield Kids have a work ethic that is superior to many activated hip hop artists today. They’ve always been complex and charming, but now an entirely different door has been broken down. Harmony and Discord, available today, is out just in time to be considered one of the best hip hop albums of 2009. If these British hip hop warriors have been looking for their place in the music world, they should have no fear. They have proven their depth more than what was necessary.

Forcefield Kids: Razorblades [mp3]

DFNT Records [CDEP, 2009]

1. Razorblades
2. Jenny (A Confession) Pts 1 & 2
3. No Signal
4. I Can’t Get
5. Dancing With Death

Newcastle is a town known for many things. A fine thick lager would be the obvious. But, hip hop probably wouldn’t cross an outsider’s mind when envisioning fields of green and cheerful soccer games pouring through two-story flats. Enter The Forcefield Kids with their soulful and spiritual flows over great seizures of digitized utopia. Their debut release, Home EP, is a fine example of the relevant fact that these brilliant British rhyme-smiths know hip hop, and they deserve their place in all it’s glamour.

For listeners looking for a fusing of popular rap and alternative hip hop, The Forcefield Kids are what may fit best in this respect. On “Since We Last Spoke”, their poetic reactions are in full effect as lead man Stain(ed) sounds like a combination of Big Pun and either member of Grayskul. And “Little Miss Star” provokes the spirits of outside elements that bend any sort of specific genre. An alternative rock influence is minute, but still entirely obvious on a track like this one.

These guys are one of the most complex hip hop duos to hit the indie world in some time. Their stamina in such a tormenting league of not so extraordinary gentlemen is well prepared and devoutly charming. When smart becomes cool in a field that has been falsely typecast as thoughtless and possibly immature, wonderful things can happen. But sometimes the original fun of hip hop can be lost. These guys haven’t forgotten either and their subsequently released Home EP is nothing short of an obvious truth to these claims.

You can purchase Home EP by The Forcefield Kids on Amazon or iTunes.

DFNT Records [Digital EP, 2009]

1. Cradle To Grave
2. Creepers
3. Little Miss Star
4. Since We Last Spoke
5. My Dead Body