Apostle Of Hustle: Eats Darkness

Apostle Of Hustle still sounds like a work in globetrotting, haphazard progress on its third album, Eats Darkness. That’s both its charm and its downfall. Darkness ponders strife and violence both personal and geopolitical, at least to judge by several sound collages—gunshots! breaking glass! slack-voiced tips on being a revolutionary!—that feel downright tacky compared to a few songs that prove how good Apostle Of Hustle can be. “Whistle In The Fog” opens on a bleary crash of cymbals and layered vocals with a drum machine shuddering against it, culling moody beauty from its mix of rock and Latin music. “How To Defeat A More Powerful Enemy” boasts a snappy chorus and a heartening bridge worth chanting along with (“we cultivate resistant hearts”), and the itchy rhythms of “Eazy Speaks” get the album started in earnest. Tropical experiments like “Soul Unwind” and the reggae-ish “Perfect Fit” wander some interesting territory without applying the same punch. Through its ups and downs, Eats Darkness keeps plenty of good ideas circulating. Sometimes the band ties them all together, but not often enough.