If you think you know 'em, you don't. Because the Ostrich Heads are not the spacey west coast underground cats that they used to be on their first album "Head In The Ground". Things have changed, for some unexplained reason, but with the new style sounding natural to them, it can't be due to marketing, trend or any reasons like that. So while they keep some of the spirits still amongst them, they chased away some of the ghosts, to give us a second album called "Tower Of Babble", that is demanding the word fresh to be included in the description of this effort.

One of the big changes is the pace of the tracks, what then also changed the moods. Because tracks like the opening cut "House Of Our Name" is quick, and with that, a sudden burst of good moods, shacking off the too often demanded seriousness, if not to say depressed state. What however will raise some eyebrows is the slight retro-sound this song boasts. And this vibe is furthered on tracks like "Gimme Sumthin", where Kritikal Prik is putting a rolling bassline behind continuously changing and completed as well as reduced forefront sounds, to then going for something totally different, that is as much a second part, as it's a remixed interlude. The emcees come to the ironic conclusion of "it's better to give than to receive, so gimme something" and they need to adopt their flows to these up-paced rhythms, what then at times blurs their words (quite interestingly "Head Trips" or "Firing Squad" are even faster, but here the words are spoken more clearly).

With the third track "Around These Parts" you realize that the Ostrich Head's live performances must be quite a treat. Not only will the big number of emcees (six to be exact) offer the needed pressure from the stage, but with them being able to handle back and forth routines, as well as beat boxing, to back up the getting you hype beats, they guarantee a good night out. Also because they can bring in the Latin flavor on "NE1" without this sounding corny or put on (although note, that this cut goes into one dark intermission some time into the cut). Lyrically we are getting what we have to expect from music that is very much made to be performed live. What means it's of braggadocios proportions, coupled with humorous lines that don't intend to change the world, what however doesn't mean, that they try to brainwash the crowd with dull and non-serious topics.

In a way what this adds up to is bringing some good times out of an artistic perspective, with creativity being more important than the quick excitement and bubble gum formula. And that allows even more room to bring different flavors, even turning the lights down and come with something smooth and nightish on "Soooo High". And when the rhythms are getting lower, so are the boastings words, with actual reflective thoughts creeping up, just as they do on "Creations 2 Completion". And again this shift in styles is not being forced, but comes natural. So does the track "Music 4 Beginners" where the producers of the Head, Mes E. Recspin, Kritikal Prik and eTURNAL dAWN show off what they are able to do, with them patch working together a dub piece, that allows itself the luxury to be made up of a tenfold of different ideas, instead of just impressing us with one. This track however is also bringing us closer to what has been done on the first album. That however can't be a bad thing, with the first album being a record we enjoyed.

So we get something retrospective (in many ways) on this album, that at the same time is an interesting change in styles and formulas for the Ostrich Head. And while the true power of these tracks must be witnessed in a live performance surrounding, the clever lyrics, the enormously carefully crafted beats, that always hold a surprise for us around the corner, make this just as much an experience you can and will enjoy at home.