Professor Green - At Your Inconvenience (Album Review)
Thursday, 03 November 2011
Written by Emma Robertson
Adopting a more intimate and cutting edge style whilst keeping the cheeky charm that made him all the more appealing, Professor Green returns with his new album 'At Your Inconvenience'. Even when evolving his sound and experimenting with different genres and artists Green still finds time to throw in tongue-in-cheek pop culture references not for the easily offended.
High expectations and eager anticipation were what followed the release of Professor Green's debut album 'Alive Till I'm Dead' which saw him explode onto the music scene with a feisty attitude and no fear in poking fun at pop culture and everyone involved. Although his second release takes on an edgier theme with a raw autobiographical edge which Green delivers with punch line choruses and heavy dubstep bass lines. The angst, atmosphere and sadism of some lyrics and the delivery, such as in 'Astronaut' and 'Into the Ground', have been continuously compared to that of Eminem's debut EP the Slim Shady.
'At Your Inconvenience' continues Professor Green's need to experiment with different sound and a multitude of varying artists, such as Ed Drewett, Emeli Sande and Frink all of whom appeared on 'Alive Till I'm Dead'. Their return gives a familiar vibe to the new album but leaves behind a majority of the bitterness and aggression and takes on a more emotionally mature delivery. Something which has not changed however is his distinguishable witty charm in scrutinising the world of celebrity and gossip, something which added to the success of his first album. With a line in the album’s title song reading, "They want it with me like they want it with malaria. Like Wayne Bridge wants to be John Terry'd again". How controversial of him.
Technically and lyrically Professor Green has progressed immensely tackling the effect of his sudden fame and family members’ opinions on his last album with head on valour. It also seemed that he vented his past and present personal issues and used the album to help him deal with them. He also verges into unfamiliar territory by teaming up with VersaEmerge singer Sierra Kusterbeck who gives the anthemic track 'Avalon' an alternative rock sound, something which Green has not done before and may not have been entirely comfortable with but executes it with perfected ease. The first single from the album, 'Read All About It' which features rising star Emeli Sande, who commands the song with her strong vocals, is a song which stands out as being the song that is the most infectious and memorable on the album; the one most likely to be replayed over and over and with good reason. The song has deep powerful lyrics and is delivered with conviction.
The layout of the album is also more interesting with the title's namesake track 'At Your Inconvenience' opening with what Professor Green does best, a comical straight talking verse with a catchy tune to boot. After the opening tracks the middle section of the album lyrically takes on a more emotive tone with more personal and honest lyrics which are set against pop, dubstep and alternative rock backing tracks. The aptly named 'Today I Cried' is a vivid song with the lyrics documenting his rise to fame and his feelings about it. He also rightly gives a mention to Lily Allen who collaborated with him on his debut album and who undeniably added to his success.
Fans of Professor Green's earlier work will certainly not be disappointed with his new release. It combines all the traits that led him to success with 'Alive Till I'm Dead' but with all the aspects of his music having matured as he has and become more refined as a result. He manages to create catchy meaningful songs and up tempo dubstep club hits whilst maintaining his lyrical integrity. 'At Your Inconvenience' is a lyrical and musical success but don't let the title fool you, this album by Professor Green is anything but an inconvenience.
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Technically and lyrically Professor Green has progressed immensely tackling the effect of his sudden fame and family members’ opinions on his last album with head on valour. It also seemed that he vented his past and present personal issues and used the album to help him deal with them. He also verges into unfamiliar territory by teaming up with VersaEmerge singer Sierra Kusterbeck who gives the anthemic track 'Avalon' an alternative rock sound, something which Green has not done before and may not have been entirely comfortable with but executes it with perfected ease. The first single from the album, 'Read All About It' which features rising star Emeli Sande, who commands the song with her strong vocals, is a song which stands out as being the song that is the most infectious and memorable on the album; the one most likely to be replayed over and over and with good reason. The song has deep powerful lyrics and is delivered with conviction.
