On
Straight From Your Radio,
Topher Lafata raps of his lyrical and sexual prowess over powerful jagged-edge electro; if he lacks the rapping talent of fellow indie-electronic MCs
Gonzales and
Cex, at least the productions are far better than anyone else doing similar material. His second EP, this one recorded for Tigerbeat6, isn't quite as extreme and inventive as the productions of label boss
Kid 606, but it does represent an exciting middle ground between trad dance/pop/hip-hop and the twitchy hardcore gabba preferred by
the Kid. Despite a few deft rhymes (sample: "musique concrète, MCs at my feet"),
Gold Chains' rapping is less
Rakim and more Fred Durst, and he has trouble bringing across the sexed-up booty techno of "I Treat Your Coochie Like a Maze" or the equally self-explanatory "Mountains of Coke" (both of which are unintentionally hilarious). ~ John Bush