Taking a break from the usual sound of Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Distraction Pieces flaunts a new sonic palette for Pip to toss his wordplay off of. Dan Le Sac and his bouncing electro soundscapes are nowhere to be found here, giving way instead to an elemental guitar aesthetic that seems to fuel the surliness. It urgently propels the insurgency that pulses beneath the surface of songs like "Let 'Em Come," "Try Dying" and "Domestic Silence." But when "Death of a Journalist" is armed with an old school 808 drum attack, the realization sinks in: Scroobius Pip has delivered an old school Run-DMC/Public Enemy record that most hip-hoppers claim to love but have forgotten.
Musically, Distraction Pieces doesn't necessarily suggest a musical break from Pip's partnership with Dan Le Sac. In fact, if it suggests a break of any kind, it's a schizophrenic one from his past lyrical self. The trenchantly disturbed "Introdiction" reinforces this notion when Pip recasts himself as the lead from television's Quantum Leap. "Ziggy says if I keep writing this shit, there's an eight percent chance that Al can make it a pop hit," he raps before turning it around with "But Al's an alcoholic and I'm a fucking schizoprhenic." Produced by NIN's Danny Lohner, it's the perfect opening track with Travis Barker's claustrophobic drumming and Milla Jovovich's best Resident Evil backing vocals adding to the eeriness.
Moving from television to the theatre, cinema seems to looms large on Pip's mind. Whether it's a Goldfinger reference in "Domestic Silence" or the inspiration of Secret Window in "the Struggle," he's doing his best to make good on "Introdiction's" promise to be the "soundtrack to your fucking movie." In particular, "the Struggle" recasts Pip as a new kind of American psycho taking his place in the new American dream, one in which a celebrity obsessed culture allows the best of the beautiful to indulge in the worst of atrocities. "My name is Johnny Depp and I kill people" he states rather plainly over bluesy guitar licks and Bo Diddley toms.
Any concerns over the veracity of the narrator's reality in "the Struggle" are immediately confronted by the successive "Broken Promise." The spectacularly murderous whims of the former are juxtaposed by the sober failings of the latter. As a moment of clarity, it's more lucid than dream and the bitter taste of reality is reflected in the somber guitar line that echoes in the back. For all his talk of replacing the Heartbreak Hotel with the "Fuck You, Get Over It Bed and Breakfast," it's obvious that Pip is the sole occupant. It's a place of ugly repose, but one in which the listener can let go before the ethereal jump off of "Feel It." Whether this is indicative of whatever twisted reality Pip dreams of next, only the future will tell.
Even though it's never name checked, there's a pervasive element of Fight Club that looms large over this record. It's an anti-social element, murderous even, that eschews all formal societal boundaries and structures while simultaneously celebrating the human spirit. "Introdiction" sets the agenda early on when Pip raps "You see a mouse trap, I see free cheese and a fucking challenge." So make no mistake, this is not the Pip of 2008's Angles that conversed with Lloyd Dobbler in his dreams. This is the Pip that turns into Tyler Durden when he sleeps and he's welcoming us to his nightmare.
essential listening:
Introdiction
the Struggle
Let 'Em Come
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