Busdriver -- Roadkillovercoat

While RoadKillOvercoat might be your first exposure to Busdriver, the uniquely skilled Hip Hop freestyler is no novice, having well over a decade in the L.A. underground and a quartet of highly regarded albums under his belt. For his fifth release and his debut for Anti/Epitaph, Busdriver presents his pop-culture-referencing, politically astute staccato raps over a soundtrack that eschews the bass-heavy speaker rumble of the majority of Rap releases in favor of defiantly melodic Indie Rock accompaniment. On the album's opener, "Casting Agents and Cowgirls," Busdriver applies his rap technique, a freestyling cross between toasting and speed rapping, to a quirkily bouncy Pop confection that could have been a collaboration between Soul Coughing and Barenaked Ladies. Elsewhere, Busdriver combines elements of the Beastie Boys with dashes of Beck and Frank Zappa ("Kill Your Employer"), as well as Public Enemy and Fishbone ("Secret Skin," "Sun Shower," "The Troglodyte Wins"). RoadKillOvercoat is a totally atypical Hip Hop record, as expansive and inventive as most straight Rap records are claustrophobic and predictable. Busdriver is one of the most uniquely talented visionaries the genre has ever produced. (Brian Baker) Grade: A-