Heartbroken and Homicidal

Album Review

While it deals with heartbreak and pain and comes packaged in creepy-sweet artwork that Tim Burton would approve, Heartbroken & Homicidal is not rap-rock duo Twiztid’s entry into the emo craze. No “scene hair” or sniveling here, just straight-up mayhem and disgust from the Psychopathic label’s secret weapon who just keep evolving, whether anyone from the outside world notices or not. Here, the group’s loyal following is treated to an odd, avant classical orchestral intro — dissonant French horns and all — before the lurching zombie beat of “Spiderwebs” comes in, as the duo churns and foams over ex-girlfriends who dare to wear mini-skirts to the bar. The track never decides whether obsession or infidelity is worse, but after a decade of writing rhymes, Twiztid have grown in strength and sometimes choose observational over declamatory. The funky key cut “Apple” is actually a cautionary tale, feeling the pain of an elder generation too broke to retire while offering some proactive personal finance advice (“This is your future, lo and behold/A lifetime of debt and an enormous workload”). If this sounds like they’ve gone soft, member Monoxide acts as producer for most of the album, packaging these mature, bummer messages in grinding beats and dark soundscapes that recall the group’s early work. Well done, once again, not that anyone who is “hip” would ever admit it.