Gully Platoon is a new crew consisting of three emcees; Pegz, Joe New and Dialectrix. Each as an individual has more than pulled their own over the past on their respective releases but can they pull of a formula that works as a crew over some production from Jase, J Squared and Plutonic Lab?

The Great Divide is a collection of pretty good tracks but the album seems to lack a bit of direction in topics and styles. Joe New and D-Trix have spat together on a heap of tracks and they bounce off each other easily in this sense, even at times confusing the ear as to who is spitting. Blue Mountains hip hop has its own style when it comes to flow and structure and both Joe New and D-Trix spit in this fashion. Pegz spits like Pegz. His flow is on point when lined up against the other two which could have been an issue as he has a unique presence but the contrast works well. Tracks such as “For Those That Don’t Know”, highlight the fact that all three emcees can seamlessly blend when done correctly however on tracks such as “Late Nights”, the slower tempo suits Pegz better than the others as ‘Bank Job’ works better with a quicker flow that Joe New and D-Trix bring. So overall it evens out but there are certainly tracks that suit each emcee better than the next. There is a lot of rap about coming up hard, hip hop and the Gully Platoon theme and vibe. It works on a lot of the tracks but after about ten tracks it sounds a little familiar, there are a few late charges with Late Nights and Where Do I Go which offer a more personal approach from the emcees but this could have been sprinkled throughout the album instead of pushing it into just a few tracks.

Production wise once the needle crackles and the guitar licks kick in you can kind of feel where this album is gonna go and that is large. With Jase and Plutonic Lab handling 99% of the beats it should sound large and in line with both these Oz Hip Hop kings reputations it bangs. There is a varying range of production from guitar heavy bangers, Bank Job, to the keys driven ‘Gully’s In Town’ and the electro bounce of ‘Nothing To Lose’. Production is on point throughout the whole album.

So is Gully Platoon the next big crew in Oz Hip Hop? They will be large that is for sure, with Pegz at the helm and the hunger of Joe New and Dialectrix it is hard to not see them killing it live and getting lots of deserved Triple J love. With an album full of solid production and good flow most should enjoy the offering but it doesn’t deviate too much from what you would expect from each emcee as a solo artist whether it is topics, flows or presence it is all there from each separate emcee and as a crew the formula should only get better.

By Sam P

Gully Platoon is – The Great Divide is out NOW. The Obese Crew will be touring near you soon, with the 2009 Block Party!

For More info check www.obeserecords.com

Tags: gull platoon, muph, obese records, oz hip hop, pegz, plutonic

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 8:56 pm and is filed under Album Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.