Paradise Don't Come Cheap
Gee Street Records (USA), 1996
Songs on this album
- Mexico or Bust
- Horse Latitudes
- Infested
- Unicorns Were Horses
- Kickin' Like Bruce L...
- Shining Armor
- Paradise Don't Come ...
- Co Pilot
- Big 10 1/2
- Valhalla Soothsayer
- Animal
- Half Asleep
- Terror Mad Visionary
- Suspended in Air
- Journey to the Sun
Reviews
Rolling Stone (10/17/96, pp.132-134) - 3-1/2 Stars - Good/Excellent - "...a slower, lower sound oozing with dense beats, grungy power chords and subterranean bass....a live drummer, turntable scratches and gritty guitar licks all stick to these voices like butter on biscuits..."
Entertainment Weekly (8/9/96, p.59) - "...Once you grow accustomed to the dissonance, hooks emerge from the din, and Kingdom's whacked-out vision starts to take shape. For artfully sculpted sonic chaos, you can't do much better than this." - Rating: B+
Q (8/96, p.124) - 3 Stars - Good - "...They weld together slow, woofer-quaking bass beats, gravel vocals and weird electronic effects, to make a harsh, inventive hip hop sound..."
Vibe (9/96, p.212) - "...New Kingdom's wild style leaves them open to comparisons to everyone from Black Sabbath and Frank Zappa to Funkadelic and Cypress Hill..."
Option (11-12/96) - "New Kingdom's new drop doesn't come straight at you; rather, it snake-dances just out of reach. Not that you're safe, 'cause if you turn your back to it, PARADISE DON'T COME CHEAP beats sidle up and bite(s) you in the ass..."
NME (12/21-28/96, pp.66-67) - Ranked #26 in NME's 1996 critic's poll.
NME (7/6/96, p.36) - 8 (out of 10) - "...a record so lazy, so freaky, so profoundly, dizzily stoned that it makes Cypress Hill appear...clear-headed....slacker hip-hop par excellence....It also sounds great. Enormous, loose beats..."
Melody Maker (12/21-28/96, pp.66-67) - Ranked #15 on Melody Maker's list of 1996's `Albums Of The Year.'
Melody Maker (6/29/96, p.48) - Recommended - "...Like Hendrix, they're waving their freak flag high. Unlike Hendrix, they don't dream of drifing away into transcendant sonic bliss. New Kingdom choose to face full-on the hot, blasting chaos of urban America with a sort of malevolent relish..."
