Apostle Of Hustle — U King EP

Apostle Of Hustle's last full-length, National Anthem Of Nowhere, consistently climaxed at moments when things went weird. It's for this reason that U King, an exclusive tour EP, is so frickin' great. With only six tracks, there isn't much room to move in many different directions, so the band mostly sway towards the strange by sampling Cuban comedy, remixing songs from NAON and leaning heavily on rhythm and odd electronics. "Fast Pony For Victor Jara" becomes a distorted beat, synth 'n' Rhodes romp. Spanish-sung "El Encuentro" is transformed into an aggressive and drum-heavy rock tune, while "Parisian Walls" is a swashbuckling ballad and diary entry a la Tom Waits. The weaker moments are when the band give into their conventional rock instincts to create droning jazz indulgences such as "Charade." But, as the Cuban sitcom sample states at the end of "Fast Pony," "sola y sin compromiso," which translates into "alone and without compromise" — something Apostle Of Hustle continue to be.

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