From Mercury to Pluto, the latest release from Cooking with Caustic, has by far the coolest intro to an album this year. DJ turntable breakbeats, brass sections and freestylin’ hip hop lyrics are all present within the short opening track. Hailing from the Blue Mountains, Cooking with Caustic combine reggae and down-tempo electro grooves with hip hop-influenced lyrics. The result is a mish mash of dub, reggae, funk-influenced grooves that make for one hell of an electric stage show.
The main single from this album is ‘About to Fly’ which features slick and silky smooth brass lines and talks about childhood memories of growing up in Australia and doing the things you love because you only live once. It has the potential to become a national hit and has quickly found its way to my iTunes most played songlist. One of the other impressive sections to this song is a wattlebird call that is sampled throughout that was recorded in Caustic’s Blue Mountains garden. It takes a few listens to tune your ear to hear it, yet those subtle little sounds are what makes me appreciate this album a lot more.
With so many interesting instruments and textures featured throughout the hour of music on this debut album, Cooking with Caustic is bound for big things. If Australian hip hop is your jam, check out this beauty today.
Written by Tex Miller