The Four Owls Natural Order Album Review

Date: 17/02/15

Author: Administrator

Underground collective known by the conjoined alias of The Four Owls (Fliptrix, Verb T, Leaf Dog & BVA) caused a ruckus with their 2011 debut album Nature's Greatest Mystery, more so than anyone probably planned for. The 4 Owls have been nesting since the arrival of the first album, recouping energy, pennin' bars through the winter and using whatever they could around them to form beats. As the winter drifts away and the clouds disperse an echoing hoot can be heard in the distance, the Four Owls are waking up and Natural Order has arrived.

The opening track on Natural Order is titled Rice Torture and blends gently into the soft boombap production as each emcee single handily displays their style, work ethic and drive for the artform through their pens! Silent Flight was the first single to be released for Natural Order, featuring an absolutely nang illustrated video to accompany the boombap slaps to the face, each emcee takes it in turns to spit a vivid array of wordplay with neck jerkin flows! A classic banger that comes natural to The Four Owls! Peep the official video below featuring ill animation from ezpz!

The Four Owls | Silent Flight

It's hard to say which tracks stand out the most after just a few listens but at the moment Feels Great is up there for us! Blasting off with a beat that oozes nothing but those summer vibes, creating The Four Owls a platform of perfection to get busy with, each emcee rides the riddem with uplifting/progressive rhymes demonstrating why their movement can't be stopped, the vibes are contagious! Think Twice is a standout track you should already recognize weather you wanted to it not, featuring the mighty DJ Premier! Never before in the history of UK Hip Hop has anyone worked with such a pioneer on a global scale, history has been made with this track. Nothing else needs to be said here just hit the play button below!

The Four Owls | Think Twice | Prod By DJ Premier

Next up is Pay The Price in which you'll see each emcee take their turn in lacing subject matter which ultimately ends up with you unforgivingly paying the price at the end, from hustling for your art form to the drug abuse and falling further into the rabbit hole. Skipping Defiant and Control for no reason other than keeping somethings entirely fresh for your ears, both absolutely bang for different reasons! The Four Elements brings that classic Four Owls sound to the forefront, straight up bars to the frontal dome, oozing nothing but clever pen game spat with utter conviction! Next is Dawn Of A New Day bringing those heavy boombap beats from Leaf Dog creating an environment The Four Owls thrive in without even trying, each of them bring raw verses defining why the tide is changing for the underground hip hop scene! Smellington Piff also blesses the beat with a verse of his own, cementing it as a certified banger. Assassination throws you straight into a neck snapping whirlwind of production, each emcees laces their verses on assassination tips, some subtle verses and then there's the Dirty Dike verse, not so subtle! Fliptrix bodies his verse, definitely our favorite verse from the track!

Next we swoop in on Ain't Like It, a sort of follow up to their track Not Like Before from their debut album! Going in on a different aspect of things not being like the olden days! From the essence of hip hop, respect, gangja habits costing twice as much and more! Catapulting ourselves to the next track The Drama we enter a boombappers dream showcasing why Leaf Dog is a highly regarded producer! Each emcee engulfs the beat with plenty of scenarios where drama arises followed by the inner desire to steam roll through it! We're going to skip going into Open Book without going into any depth as it's another one you'll experience yourself, featuring the notorious Jam Baxter!

Judgement brings more relatable subject matters that apply to everyone despite your walk of life, focusing on those who've lost control of their ego and are spiraling out of control! "Are You Looking Beyond The Cover You See? Or Judging Me By The Things The World Made You Believe?". Second to last track on the album is Old Earth which I actually heard when copping the single, initially I thought this wouldn't have been on the album but thank fuck it is! Possibly one of my favorite songs in the history of The Four Owls, absolutely drenched in conscious vibes and progressive production you'll see these heads go in on a self reflective tip, speaking on difficult issues throughout life while turning those negatives into positives to progress beyond the trials and tribulations! Spark a zoot, enter full screen mode and kick back to the below visuals!

The Four Owls | Old Earth

Last track on Natural Order is titled Motivation featuring a beat that'll open your Pineal Gland with the positive offsprings it releases! Fliptrix opens up and touches on what motivates him to progress the HF movement, Leaf speaks of his lack of wealth but surrounded by humble and some legendary status heads, Verb T's shines with his vivid delivery and timeless penmanship, BVA wraps up the last verse with more thought provoking rhymes focusing on the haters who dwell the shadows, ending Natural Order on a high while a rush of endorphins seep into your eardrums!

While it's been an extremely long wait for The Four Owls second album, I can safely say it was well worth the long list of withdrawal symptoms, absolutely packed with substance and relatable subject matter through out, the beats are obviously a pungent, potent slap to the face of boombap with plenty of surprises along the way, each emcee impresses you from start to finish with their pengame and encapsulating flows! If you haven't ordered yourself a copy I wouldn't put it off another day, especially if you want a limited edition vinyl! With the physicals costing £8.99 and the vinyls £17.99 it's an offer you can refuse, I'll eat my hands if another album comes out this year that rivals this level of professionalism and the reasonable price tag.

Click the album art below to head over to the High Focus store!