No space for mincing words on Let Them Eat Chaos, this is by far the most potent, powerful LP release for 2016. For those unfamiliar with her work, Kate Tempest is a multi-awarded and much-lauded poet, playwright and spoken word artist hailing from South-East London.
Her appearance on Q&A earlier this year was incredibly affecting viewing, and that same level of passion, frustration and emotion is articulated with aplomb throughout Let Them Eat Chaos.
Through a mixture of spoken word and rap, a narrative thread runs throughout the album. The first two tracks, Picture A Vacuum and Lionmouth Door Knocker lead us from the outer reaches of space into our solar system, and then towards the soft blue planet called Earth. Then things head astray, as we tumble through the atmosphere, zeroing in on a city of millions – London, the first character in the narrative. The simple but effective music production, mixed with Tempest’s incredibly visual lyrics, set an ominous tone.
We’ve arrived at a London street at 4.18am where seven strangers are struggling to sleep. Throughout the remainder of the album almost every track commences with a spoken word intro, introducing one of these seven strangers. Familiar stories of grief, anxiety, loneliness, regret, relapse, concerns for the future, and concerns for the state of the planet keep these strangers up at night.
As the storm rumbles in the city is not painted as a sympathetic place. Millions of people living in close proximity, shunning the problems of the world and growing fat off the misery of others. There’s some heady social and political subject matter addressed through Tempest’s nimble and passionate lyricism. As far as poet/rappers go, there are few out there in the same sphere. The storm represents a wake-up call, shattering the city and the strangers from their malaise. While seemingly pessimistic in nature, this denouement of these characters breaking the shackles and embracing the hostility of the storm ties the album together beautifully and offers a glimmer of hope.
By Eben Rojter
