Nightmare vinyl

No Hats No Hoods. It's a name that certainly sticks in the mind, playing on irony, dripping with attitude, oozing a self-assured confidence. True to form, this glorious release on what is undoubtedly one of the kings of underground grime labels does just that. Enter Badness feat. Skepta & Lil Nasty, for "Badness" - the 10th release from the imprint. The delectable spooky intro, growling "Nightmaaare" in breathy, ominous tones, sets a precedent for things to come. Its inky blank bassline penetrates the very essence of your being; a scurrilous interplay of spoken word, rumbling bass, jittering synths and hissing breaks prevails. DMZ's Coki and Cotti deliver a decidedly more upbeat remix, full of bouncing, stepping rhythms, before Bristol-based HENCH producer, Mensah, comes up with a dollop of screechy synth-driven dubstep to break things up. Bassboy, in stark contrast, fixes up, looks sharp (to use an overused grime idiom), so that the words are spoken in discerning clarity, with more of a bassline vibe. It's a cracking release all round, though - highly recommended.