- Both BADBADNOTGOOD and Ghostface Killah released new albums last year, one was an example of passionate musicianship and a sharpening of the craft, the other was 36 Seasons. That’s not so much a dis on Ghostface but praise for BBNG.

Sour Soul should be a perfect fit; a jazz band with a penchant for hip-hop covers, providing cover for a rapper with a penchant for free-verse that fits in with jazzy rhythms. For the most part it works wonderfully, though it does feel less like a collaboration and more like an overlay of overflow from each of their last releases. The intro and outro instrumentation are probably most guilty of this, sounding like b-side snippets of BBNG’s III.

Ghostface is not so disappointing here, rhyming a mix of the juvenile and obscure with topical references and hypothetical questions. More impressive though is the bulk of BBNG’s backing, a smooth and subtly synthetic affair that flows between funk grooves and something reminiscent of ‘70’s ‘sploitation soundtracks.

Sadly some of the best material on the album actually comes from the outside. Several of the tracks feature guests like DOOM and Danny Brown. It could be the benefit of having an artist focus solely on one song, or simply a display of the talents they chose, but these features stand out from the rest in an unmissable way.

Running just over the half hour mark, Sour Soul is a short album that takes too long to warm up and then walks away when the gas is lit. Everybody does a great job of doing their job, unfortunately there’s not a lot more to a show than that. It has the great effect of making you wish for another solo release from either of the artists and not the half-fulfilled promise they’ve delivered here.

- Nic Addenbrooke.