Album: Toddla T – Skanky Skanky

ALBUM REVIEW: Toddla T – Skanky Skanky
words: Jack

It’s been a busy 2 and a half years for Steel City’s favourite son. Not only has Toddla T a.k.a. Tom Bell, 23, won critical acclaim from across the board (FACT magazine, tastemaker Sinden, and Radio 1’s own Annie Mac have plugged this kid hard) but he’s gone from being a trainer store assistance with a fetish for all things ‘dutty’ to a globe hopping dj renowned for sets that take in dancehall, bassline, soca and more. In doing so he’s become one of the foremost pioneers of a new ‘anything-goes’ attitude within British urban dance music.

Having first heard T on Sinden’s Kiss FM show a couple of years back I’ve followed his career with great intrigue. From the live sets I’ve seen and the quality of his production in that time it’s pretty clear that he has a real knowledge of not just the hardcore continuum but of his cities own musical heritage with Warp and LFO being just as important influences as dancehall. The evolution of his production was one of the main reasons I was so keen to hear this album and to say I’m disappointed is an understatement, to put it mildly.

The opening skit of ‘Boom DJ’ does seem to set things up nicely, you can tell where T’s coming from straight away as he jabbers indecipherably with MC Mr. Versatile. The problem is when the music kicks in. Trigganom’s flow sounds jarred and crediting ‘Helders’ seems to be a stab at clawing some mainstream acclaim off the back of the polar chimps success. This unnecessary from the music serves no real purpose other than to detract from the song’s major high points: its basslines which sound not a little unlike Derrick May’s ‘The Dance.’

The next tracks continue to fall short of their potential. ‘Coin off’ possess some wicked effects but Roots Manuva’s rhymes never go anywhere. Manuva’s reputation for self-indulgency on the mic is not going to be shaken off with this offer and whilst toasting in such a fashion can be fine at a rave on a full length lp it seems to lack urgency or direction. ‘Rice and peas’ a.k.a. a revamp of ‘Fill up me portion’ is a banger, my only complaint being that the new production lacks the dirty, rough edge of its template. Whilst this track may set dancefloors alight it doesn’t sit easily beside slow burners like ‘Coin off’ and ‘Butter me up.’

‘Butter me up’ is a weird one to say the least. Though the vocals are oddly, and perhaps even unsettlingly seductive, it lacks killer breakdown and instead become a slab of (very well produced) elevator ragga. Things pick up dramatically with the next track ‘Manabadman.’ Although already released as a single some time ago Serocee’s nonsensical flow combined with T’s bleeps and bass stabs make this one of the albums stand out tracks. ‘Manabadman’ also heralds the album’s best trio of tracks with Tinchy Stryder sounding at his best (and trust the boy has talent) on ‘Safe’ and ‘Sound Tape Killin’ acting as a benchmark against which Toddla should measure all future work. It’s 4×4 kicks, hand claps and distorted rave stabs build to one of the best breakdowns of recent years. The album’s stand out track.

It’s a shame that from this vantage point things decline rapidly. Toddla is known for the humour he injects into his sets but ‘Roadtrip’ is just fucking rubbish. A totally unnecessary track in which Toddla adopts his ‘T-willy’ guise to deliver woeful bars over a distinctly average beat. I don’t spend my hard earned coin to listen to what I suspect is an in joke and I certainly don’t agree with the NME suggesting he may be a “northern Jamie T”. If Swizz Beats’ recent ventures into rapping have taught us anything it’s that producers should stay behind a mixing desk. Such ill-advised dalliances with the mic also suggest that a) toddla didn’t have enough ‘A-grade’ material to complete the record and/or b) he doesn’t care about his production, the effect and quality of which is clearly diminished by unnecessary vox. Considering the depth his achieves with tracks like ‘Sound Tape Killin’ I’ve not doubt that the former is more likely.

From this point onwards the album runs out of steam. ‘Shake-it’ (produced in conjunction with the hardest working man in dance Joshua Harvey) mashes up elements of UK funky and bashment to reasonable effect however the last few tracks simply roll into each other. It’s not that they’re all terrible, though they’re hardly great either, but that they simply lack the depth and clarity of expression Toddla is known to be capable…was 14 tracks just too much too soon?

Although lacking in refinement ‘Skanky Skanky’ speaks volumes about potential. Toddla’s qualities are plain to see when one looks at the breadth of influences he forces into his tracks and when they work they work extremely well. Despite a well rounded knowledge of British dance music and an understanding of track dynamics it appears that Toddla simply doesn’t know when to stand back and reassess his work objectively. His ill advised forays into mc-ing coupled with some very poor guest appearances could lead to suggestions that this project was hastily rushed.

I’ve no doubt that Toddla T will yet become on the UK’s best producers. At his best he comes on like Steel Cities answer to Diplo, but at his worst he comes across as a joke raga act. Given time to refine his studio techniques and develop the skills he displays most prominently on ‘Manabadman’ and ‘Fill up me Portion’ and the boy will come good.