Music, Sounds

Backxwash, HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING: REVIEW

by Darcy MacDonald

“With this third entry in a trilogy of albums, Backxwash outmatches herself in a sudden death round at her own playoff series.”

Backxwash, HIS HAPPINESS SHALL COME FIRST EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SUFFERING (Ugly Hag)

Slicing precision meets helter-skelter bludgeoning as Backxwash submits the third entry in a trilogy that began with 2020’s Polaris-winning God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It and its 2021 follow-up I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES. Perhaps “submit” is a poor choice of words. There’s nothing submissive about the rapper/producer’s voice, words or presentation, despite the vulnerability and introspection woven into the chaos and violence of the metal-edged hip hop she’s acclaimed for. The precision is two-fold. It’s no easy feat to design and execute a trilogy of anything on schedule, much less a complex rap autobiography. And the imagery, wordplay and attention to detail in every aspect of each movement of this third act are equally explicit. As for the helter-skelter bludgeoning, let the music do the cutting and feel it for yourself. With HIS HAPPINESS, Backxwash outmatches herself in a sudden death round at her own playoff series. 9/10 Trial Track: “NYAMA” ft. Pupil Slicer

This review was originally published in the November 2022 issue of Cult MTL.

For more on Backxwash, please visit her website.

For more Montreal music coverage, please visit the Music section.

Posted in Music, Sounds

by Darcy MacDonald

Contributor
Darcy MacDonald has been with Cult MTL since day one, a decade ago. Which means today, he’s a middle-aged white guy (albeit one more interested in other people’s ideas than in his own). He was previously a columnist and reporter for Montreal Mirror, and has also created content (FKA “written”) for RBMA, Noisey, Montreal Gazette, The National Post and probably some other great places he’s forgotten about. Music, culture, community and miscellaneous questions in search of answers all come across his desk, sooner or later.