XLR8R

With their full-length debut as White Hole, longtime collaborators Nicholas Bussman and Hanno Leichtmann unveil a brainy take on hip-hop that has Berlin written all over it. There‘s a compelling mechanical vivacity to this album, as if a gang of kitchen appliances suddenly came to life and hit the pavement looking for a pack of smokes. The toothy electro opener "He‘s in Jail" makes clear that the key to the Pink Album lies in its metallic, vibrating basslines; they‘re a propulsive backbone on tracks like "Le Rap Du Psy" and the drunken, jangling "Ingrus."