ARTIST: PROFESSOR ELEMENTAL AND MR FRISBEE / LABEL: SPLANGA RECORDS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Professor Elemental is a much beloved icon of the UK geek scene. Ever since his Internet smash hit A Cup of Brown Joy, the good Professor has earned a cult following for his nerdcore hip hop stylings. He’s best known for his live shows, which are currently being sorely missed.

So a new album is rather welcome and extremely timely. This new collection of songs weighs in at 11 tracks and is about 30 minutes long. For long-term fans, it’s safe to say that this is more of the same; the delicious blend of whimsy, silliness, and a touch of frustration about the state of the world.

Production and instrumental fun comes from talented Mr Frisbee. This brings a welcome shift in style from the Prof’s usual collaborator, the splendid Tom Caruana. It’s a nice change and Frisbee has big shoes to fill but he does this brilliantly well.

We open with an instrumental, State of Mind, and it sets the stage nicely. Next up is Future Vintage, a big and noisy track that promises to blow the doors off and does so pretty nicely, blending genres in a careless and joy-filled way. Next up is I Put a Curse On You, a ‘from Hell’s heart I tut at thee’ style rant at the Britain’s current state of decay. It’s passionate and funny, and very Professor Elemental.

Next up is Inside Out, a song about the geeky/nerdy/weird community that the Professor is very much a part of. It’s a celebration of difference as much as everything else and it’s probably the strongest Hip-Hop song on the album. It’s chill and righteous. Monster and To Do List takes us into the realms of storytelling and steampunk oddness.  Apparently, it’s tough being Professor Elemental sometimes, especially when you just can’t get your monkey butler to behave.

All in this together is another ‘welcome to the party’ song, clearly a crowd-pleasing banger that will almost certainly sound amazing live. One for the comic cons certainly, but it’s still lovely. Nice gets full-on Steampunk in style and is about rebellion through being lovely. It’s certainly a mood. The Cat’s Pyjamas is a warm hug of song, an anthem for anyone who needs a pick-me-up right now.

We round off with another instrumental, Sympathy for the Beviille, which wins for the name alone. Let’s Get Messy is just the ticket for the world right now, the pick-me-up the world needs.