Listening to records from artists from the highly versatile Anticon camp, it’s hard to believe that these guys started out making hip-hop. In the case of Dose-One, it seems even stranger that he battled Eminem at Scribble Jam some ten years ago, but then again, the stuff these guys have releases has always been off the beaten path. Enter Subtle, the “alpha band” of Dose-One and Jel, with For Hero: For Fool acting as the second project from the experimental rock/hip-hop outfit. 

      It’s heavy. Fans who have followed these guys thus far will find themselves slipping comfortably in the groove these guys create with their second record, however noisy and seemingly random it may be. The album begins with the two-part “Tale Of Apes”, a production tour-de-force, which finds Jel trading back and forth between up tempo, aggressive b-boy beats and earthy vibes, while Dose flexes various styles of singing, rapping, and, well, sing-rapping. The pair of “Middleclass Stomp” and “Middleclass Kill” follows. The first finds the duo going straight for the skinny-white-rock-kid jugular, not at all hiding their passion for the current indie rock sounds. The latter has Jel doing what he does best - going drum crazy - as Dose gets inspired to wild-out with styles. “The Mercury Craze” also pulls this off well, apt for getting a few toes tapping at your local hipster party. 

   “Midas Gutz” is one of the more straightforward hip-hop tracks, but like most of the other material on this album, don’t bother trying to make sense of it. Their rhyme styles and deliveries are all over the place, referencing Ice Cube and Charlie Bronson, yet trying to dig for deeper meaning can cause vertigo. It’s best to just get high and let the off-kilter musical vibes take you away. 

     This isn’t for everyone, as Dose’s strange styles are an acquired taste. It’s interesting to see where Jel takes the beats (although the blatant Nine Inch Nails piano breakdown bite was kinda lame), there is a sense of masturbatory, artistic pretentiousness to this that says “we are so much smarter than you”. Hate it or love it.