What is this?

18+ are what I imagine would happen if Portishead had a younger sibling who spent too much time on the darker corners of the internet during their formative years. Either that or if Die Antwoord did mescaline in the streets of New Orleans. The duo of Boy and Sis have been creating some of trip-hop‰’s strangest music for a couple years, but “Truth‰” comes as their commercial full-length debut.

Anyone who has already followed the band at all will notice that many tracks here have already been released whether on earlier EPs or as demos, but it‰’s undeniable that this project incorporates those songs into a much more cohesive and thoughtful album, all while sticking to the group‰’s graphic, unnerving sound.

At most times, it‰’s hard to tell what 18+ are really doing. Their drawling, kind of pornographic voices coupled with off-kilter samples of everyday sounds draws immediate comparisons to early Cocorosie not to mention their lyrical gestations at sex in a dark and ugly way. But while the group easily finds themselves under the moniker of trip-hop, their approach taken towards electronic production is less reminiscent of the glittery, reverb-laced sounds of most modern trip-hop acts and more reminiscent of the Witch House/Trap scene that came on the heels of Lil Ugly Mane and Three Six Mafia. 

Boy and Sis float between rapping and No-Wave melodramatics, between glamor and disgustingly dark sludge. From the dark dance beat of “Crow,‰” their most successful single, to the meekly waltzing anthem of “Almost Leaving,‰” “Trust‰” tiptoes through countless states of expression while never fully revealing itself. 18+ have a sound that is purely their own and riddled with influences all at once.

RIYL: Portishead, HTRK, Cocorosie, Die Antwoord, Gangsta Boo, M.I.A.
Recommended Tracks: 4, 5, 9, 10