Australian rap has never sounded as dark as it does on Phrase’s debut Talk With Force. It’s appropriate, really, that he’s from Melbourne, as the shadowy and disturbed scratchings on Talk With Force speak of grimy alleys and rainy nights.

The influence of Adelaide scene elder statesmen Hilltop Hoods is obvious in the juicy production that uses samples like those on “Here Now” (featuring Mystro) and “Nothin’s Gonna Change”. “Hookerville” may be tacky, but it’s also catchy, much in the same way that much of the likes of 50 Cent and others material is crude and obnoxious, but still melodically and rhythmically strong.

But there’s certainly far too many guest stars on a too long album – fourteen tracks with fives guest performers (with Lee Sissing and Daniel Merriweather popping on two and three tracks respectively), but fortunately the production of the Crooked Eye team – made up of Phrase, Merriweather, and J Skoobs – is always punchy and tight.

Phrase is certainly a far more exciting proposition than several other recent folks emerging from the now nascent Melbourne hip-hop scene. He seems far more like a rapper first and foremost, and a producer second – whilst he may have had a hand in it, it’s not the focus. Instead, that relies on Phrase’s gritty urban tales.