With the exception of the odd "fuck," I have no idea what Christov is rapping about. I don't know Dutch, and despite what a couple of my friends say, it's not that close to English.

Christov 't Leven & Werk van Pilske Donders (Brabant Lowlife/Beats Broke)

On the other hand, I recognize the beats immediately. It's like a time machine back to mid-90s New York. Christov is obviously telling stories, and I think they're not exactly nice ones. The title of the album translates as "The Life and Work of Pilske Donders," though that doesn't exactly shed much light on the subject matter.

So let the music do the talking. Christov spits out his rhymes in full throat-clearing form, and while that might have more than a little to do with the difficulty of making Dutch even remotely rhythmic, it also adds to the general menace of the sound. These are songs of a world that is breaking down.

Maybe this is pedestrian. Well, maybe the rhymes are pedestrian. You'll have to ask someone who speaks Dutch. The beats and delivery are sublime. I'll leave the translating to others (and no, Google's translations aren't any good, either) and simply blast this sucker. A work that is full of life.

Jon Worley