When a band like Wolf & Cub – whose fuzz-drenched debut Vessels was one of 2007’s pleasant surprises – enlists a producer like Bumblebeez’s Chris Colonna to helm their second album, alarm bells sound. At the risk of reinforcing this country’s critical disdain of homegrown hip-hop, what value could someone responsible for ‘Dr. Love’ possibly bring to the table?

Though Science & Sorcery doesn’t see Wolf & Cub appending third-rate Bomb Squad beats to their gritty psychedelia, it's still an unexpected side-step from Vessels. Block-rocking opener ‘Seven Sevens’ retains the low-slung, funk-influenced bass of yore but replaces the group’s trademark wall o’ feedback with wiry guitars and FX. It’s a jarring start to the record and indicative of where Wolf & Cub’s collective consciousness is currently at. With its vibrant jungle rhythms, the ebullient ‘What Are They Running’ takes things even further down this unexpected path. So far, so so. Where’s the chaotic white heat of ‘Rozalia Bizarre’ or the slow-burning intensity of‘Kingdom’?

Things pick up with ‘One to the Other’, which shows that Wolf & Cub haven’t completely abandoned everything that made them worth listening to in the first place. And it’s the Suicide-channelling ‘Master’ that provides Science & Sorcery’s first and only flash of brilliance. Though tainted by a little bit too much electronic tomfoolery, at least it’s dark and (kind of) fucked-up.

But it doesn’t last. Throwaway rocker ‘Spider’s Web’ is enjoyable enough, before ‘Restless Sons’ sees Wolf & Cub laying down their guitars again in favour of futzing around with synthetics. The same goes for ‘Hearts’. There is, of course, nothing inherently wrong with this sort of experimentation. It’s not 1997 anymore, and the words “electronic” and “rock” are no longer mutually exclusive. But in losing the acrid tendrils of guitar noise that were so integral to Vessels, Wolf & Cub have lost much of their edge.

The explosive ‘The Loosest of Gooses (Go On Your Own)’ stands out like a sore thumb, although it’s probably fair to contend that its hepped-up energy only seems explosive in comparison to the tepid tracks before it. ‘Blood’ treads a similar path, but doesn’t come close to matching anything off Vessels.

The schizophrenic ‘Burden’, all acoustic guitars and heavily distorted electro squelches, takes Science & Sorcery out with a proverbial whimper. Like most that precedes it, ‘Burden’ feels like a hasty pastiche of incongruent sounds and moods. What seems like a deliberate exercise in going out on a limb has unfortunately failed. Though not devoid of the occasional saving grace, Science & Sorcery is a confusing, lacklustre and ultimately disappointing return for Wolf & Cub.

by Adam D Mills