I've always had a soft spot for the somewhat amorphously named genre of geek rock. It encompasses artists from Weezer to They Might Be Giants, as well as lesser known ones like The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets (there really should be a sub genre called Cthulhu Punk). There's just something gratifying about topics like comics and role playing games that aren't really "cool" being unabashedly glorified with the pompousness of rock. Now it stands to reason that this doesn't have to be limited to one genre - why not hip hop?

Enter Grayskul, a group that you need to look no further than their name to prove their geekiness (I suppose the fact that they dropped the second L makes it more stylish or cool or something). I know comic books and other such nerdy pursuits are not new to hip hop (Perhaps I should listen to more MF Doom), but I haven't encountered a group before that's this obsessed with superheroes. I mean really, I don't think I've heard a group (of any genre) mention a utility belt in a song, much less multiple times on an album.

Superhero themed songs abound on this album (their debut), from songs about action figures coming to life to a highly amusing song with superheroes complaining about the perils of rescuing women ("No, I won't take my mask off - get away from me!"). They also take it a step further, presenting themselves as superheroes (Recluse, Reason & Phantom). If you think about it, hip hop actually fits quite well into this mold, what with the alter egos and confident swaggers. There's a song on here where they put an entertaining twist on the usual battle rap put-downs with a song about apprehending and punishing villains.

All of it's a hell of a lot of fun. The production by Phantom is low key, but really well done. It's nothing really out of the ordinary; just the usual vocal and musical samples, but damn are they catchy. Just try not to get that 70's guitar riff from the song Cursive not stuck in your head. Recluse and Reason prove able MCs, providing heady, yet humorous rhymes throughout. Both of them occasionally suffer from trying to cram too many words in without thought to the beat, but I suppose that's the style these days. There's also some entertaining guest spots on the album, most notably (at least for me) Aesop Rock and Mr. Lif. Kudos for managing to work Aesop's Bazooka Tooth moniker as part of the um...plot(?) of the song.