Dälek

Unlike too many lumpenproletariat punk bands, hip-hop trio Dälek deploys serious Marxist dialectics. As a method of argument, it uses language to illustrate the incongruities of American culture, systematically weighing contradictory facts or ideas with a view toward resolution. On “Opiate the Masses” leader/MC Dälek attacks the repulsiveness of organized religion over a caterwaul of electronic noise. “Did missionaries wield swords or break bread?/Your holy books only increase bloodshed,” he raps. The group balances this gore with the dulcet drones of “Absence” and “Koner.” On the latter, the need for music’s healing power is so strong that for once, Dälek’s voice remains silent.