Funnkoars: The Greatest Hits

It’s no surprise Funkoars haven’t hit the mainstream, even in Australia: their brand of smut-hop is even more obscene than gross-out A-hop kings Butterfingers (“Every time I pluck my pubic hairs to make myself attractive / My dick gets sore and I fuck like a spastic” — that got played on the radio). The Greatest Hits, the band’s second full-length, follows Welsh joke-hoppers Goldie Looking Chain into misogynistic, immature territory, and while the sense of Aussie larrikinism is certainly in effect, it’s not particularly exciting. The first track, “Hurro”, opens with an educational sample about sex and that’s the tone: XXX-rated and proud. Production is organic and funky, what we’ve come to expect from Aussie hip-hop; first out of necessity, then as an identifying aesthetic. The best groups, like the Herd, turn this into an asset, weaving complex and intelligent politico-rhymes above funky basslines. The Greatest Hits, unfortunately, just offers puerility as a shouted chant, hardly any melody. The best songs here minimize the sex talk and celebrate the collaborations, no surprise: “What I Want” lets a joyful horn sample and female chorus accent a fast-flowing upbeat anthem, and “Meet The Family” (with Pegz) is an angry, swirling banger. But after the dust has settled it’s no mistake, Funkoars, when shouted with over-pronounced Australian accents, comes to sound so much like “Fuck Whores”. Don’t bother.