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P.O.S Album review: Audtion

Minneapolis-based P.O.S. has done this before. The thing is, his previous work includes drumming for the punk outfit Cadillac Blindside and thrashing with Building Better Bombs. Now armed with a mic and a hip hop sensibility, P.O.S. launches hellacious rhymes over rugged riffs and beats. His lyrical style is more observant than self-absorbed, while Audition’s beats fuse distorted rock elements with head-splitting rhythm.

“Half-Cocked Concepts” opens the album with an intense punch in the face with lyrics like “First of all, fuck Bush; that’s all, that’s the end of it,” while chopped up, heavily distorted guitars line the exterior of the track. The raging chorus matches every bit of intensity that P.O.S. displays within his flow throughout the album. “Stand Up (Lets Get Murdered)” and “A Teddy Bear And A Tazer” hint at the musical style of RJD2’s The Horror, intermingling horn stabs and a live rhythm section with P.O.S.’ impassioned rhetoric.

Fellow Rhymesayer label mate and Atmosphere mouthpiece Slug contributes his biting voice to “Bush League Psyche-Out Stuff” and “Bleeding Hearts Club (MPLS Chapter).” On two of the album’s several standout tracks, P.O.S. holds his own with Slug, emitting a very similar passionate flow that is prominent in the Twin Cities hip hop scene.

With all of the grungy, distorted beats and the fierce lyrical snarls, Audition will leave listeners bruised and gashed. But with a tinge of Minnesota nice from P.O.S., he helps dust you off and cleans your wounds, coercing you to come back for more.

Grade: B

--By Paul Shanafelt
Contact: paul.shanafelt@gmail.com