“Mermaids EP” is what you hear when you play “Stairway to Heaven” backwards. Dripping with venom and stinking of brimstone, Blue Daisy’s latest EP is devious shit. But it ain’t all that bad in the belly of the Beast.
“I got to sleep dreaming of angels and demons and wake up screaming” the UK rapper bleeds on “Angels and Demons,” the 3-song EP’s final crucifix nail. The words are dubbed to sinister effect, like Linda Blair’s in “The Exorcist,” but the emcee’s distinct British street accent is still there in shadows, a spectre of humanity.
In this regard, “Mermaids EP” is much like Blue Daisy’s “Psychotic EP,” which he, er, blessed us with earlier this year. However, “Mermaids” isn’t as devious as it may emerge. “Home & Heartless,” which opens the release, builds slowly from an non-foreboding snare beat, survives a wall of Satanic verses with its bare bones intact. Moreover, Blue Daisy’s short-run also sets an enchanted mood. The title track – which features the welcomed seraph of Lizbet Sempa – gongs ominously, filling the room with wide sounds that bring focus to the featured vocals.
Though Daisy’s lyrics are a victim of translation (due to both his thick brogue and Enochian tendencies), you don’t really need to hear the full articulation to tell what’s at work. Take heed – this EP isn’t meant for the daylight. It’s most comfortable among goat heads and pentagrams. But, if you have the same macabre sense of adventure that I do, you can download it for free and get the ritual started.
