Buck 65 — Secret House Against The World

With each album, Nova Scotia's Buck 65 piles up more props from the legions who find genius in his country-blues style of hip-hop. Despite his undeniable gift for off-kilter instrumentation, Buck's songs go off the rails as soon as he opens his mouth. "The Suffering Machine" drifts on a lush string arrangement and the twanging guitar of "Blood Of A Young Wolf" oozes desert-highway atmosphere, but like most of the tracks on Secret House Against The World they're weighed down by their creator's affected Tom Waits impression. Some results, like the staccato chorus "Skeleton! On fire! Ridin'! Motorcycle!" from "Blanc Bec" are downright embarrassing. Yeah, he's original, but Secret House proves that originality doesn't always equal quality.

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