Mutant Freak is Punk Rock and Hip Hop duo Ho99o9's debut EP release. I was initially not so interested, I got the impression from the differences between Dead Bodies In The Lake and United States Of Horror that the pair where an upwards path. Occasional tracks bang with hard hitting grooves and heretic energy but a lot of their material revolves around unhinged "atmosphere" and aesthetics that culminate to a strange breed of rebellion born from their unique fusion of influences.
With Cyber Cop the two produced a very cohesive set of songs which mostly rocked from front to back. Its not what I expected but the three tracks of Mutant Freak do this too, without any apparent bangers or big beats. On this eight minute listen their dark aesthetics and sporadic mic presence finds a dynamism I didn't hear before. Their selection of gritty, night time synth samples play against loose drums as they drop darkly verses between odd vocal inflections with an interesting spark.
Split in the middle is Hated In America, a heated Punk Rock track with fast tempo drums, thrashing power chord guitars and a infectious amount of reverberation to echo and add some maniac energy to their screams. Its short but sweet and far better than I had expected. In this case the two forge engaging music that doesn't rely on head rocking tropes. Something I didn't think they did to well before.
Rating: 4/10