Grimace Love

The instructional expression "never judge a book by its cover" may seem practical in theory but when weekly release dates are met with thousands of potential purchases a shoddy album jacket will have you wondering where the consumer love has gone. To this end, the tight new record from Monolith alumnus Grimace Love almost slipped through the cracks. Fortunately, a quick first spin reveals a diverse and well-paced album that's refreshingly and unabashedly Toronto in both style and sound, without making a point of being so. With his once prevalent Scarborough-repping crew in tow, Grimace proves a confident, thinking man's MC over an hour's worth of beats that cover all the bases: intricate, introspective, reggae-infused and plain club-rockin'. The bristling "It's All Over," with Wio-K's patoi hook, and party cut "Skip The Needle" will loosen your neck muscles, while the cool, melodically monotone "Encouragement" and world-renouncing reggae closer "Never Change" round out this diverse offering and provide evidence that the T-dot's old guard still have something to say.