Quick Hitters:: Hermitofthewoods - Love's Dark Season

I have to say, if you were looking for a lifestyle choice that was diametrically opposed to that of an MC, being a hermit is an appropriate choice. After all, in the beginning, an MC's job was to move the crowd, and hermits don't want anything to do with crowds, but rather move very far away from them. I suppose this doesn't matter much to the hermit in question though, Hermitofthewoods, because if his new album, Love's Dark Season, is any indication, he's a man who MC's not out of a desire to rock a party, but more out of a desire to chase away demons and ponder existential-style questions.

Which is fine by me, because this Hermit happens to make indie hip hop of a rather industrial/electro bent, but it also happens to be very impassioned and rather polished. Honestly, if you told me this record was affiliated with Strange Famous, Def Jux, or any other label that is associated with this kind of sound, I wouldn't have been phased. Which isn't surprising when you consider that Halifax produced folks like Buck 65 and Sixtoo, who played a major role in the emergence of this kind of hip hop in the 90's.

As far as I know, the Hermit himself handled the production on this album, and so credit is due to him, because no matter if it's the heavy electro sound The Book of Leaving, the more traditional, almost jazzy sound of The Paint, or even the guitar screech of Pig Iron, the music makes an impact.

Lyrically, this record is heavy as you might expect a hip hop album named Love's Dark Season to be, but you're certainly getting lyrical bang for your buck - the album is packed with plenty of deep ruminations on painful loves and the general failings of society. Being perfectly honest, I'd normally like to spend more time with an album like this in order to really absorb the songs and have more of an idea of where the Hermit is coming from, but my usual procrastination and the fact that there's an album release party for this record tonight in Halifax forced my hand.

So while the heavy subject matter on Love's Dark Season might not make it the first thing you reach for on a scorcher like today, there's no denying this is some quality underground hip hop that deserves to be heard. If you're in Halifax, you can hear it live tonight at Elephant & Castle.

MP3:: Hermitofthewoods - The Trial of Herman O Dagwood
MYSPACE:: www.myspace.com/hermitofthewoods