Review of The Walkmen's Fortruss single

Bringing matters down just a bit closer to Earth, we have the new single from The Walkmen on Atomik Recordings. Now, underground hip-hop needs another group making constant references to Star Wars like Blockbuster Video needs more Red Shoe Diary tapes, but one listen to Storm Trupa (The Ark Angel) and Tino Vega (The Spanish Prince)'s "Fortruss" will make you forget all your gripes. The instrumental takes various cues from the Star Wars soundtrack, and if you're not feeling it by the second time the track changes, then something is physically wrong with you. Their DJ, Kramtronix, puts the needle to the groove, lacing the track with some nice scratches of various sound effects and phrases from, presumably, The Story of Star Wars record. Lyrically, they come off on the track, though they struck me as a bit of a poor man's Esoteric. The b-side, "The Countdown Theory" takes its hook from Method Man on "How High" and features a guest appearance by the Zalman King of the group, their producer, Celph Titled (aka "The Rubix Cuban," which makes me smile). With a tight-ass, violin-dominated track, a kinda grimy flow, and rhymes like, "Never spit rhymes in a cipher, I siphon blood from your veins with the straw that broke the camel's back," Celph seems to be the one to watch, but the Walkmen do ah-ight by themselves, too. There's also a "Countdown" remix, which isn't quite as ill, but makes a nice companion piece to the original. So, do yourself a favor, spend the six bucks, and catch up on Florida's growing hip-hop scene.