While most artists these days take themselves too seriously, one act has always maintained that happy-go-lucky nature over the years. At a time when the airwaves were dominated by the likes of Eminem and Jay Z, Long Beach’s Ugly Duckling burst onto the scene with their 2001 debut Journey to Anywhere, spawning the hit single A Little Samba, winning themselves a legion of fans who appreciated their more laid back style of hip hop. Dizzy Dustin, Andy Cooper and Young Einstein have this knack for creating party hip hop that just puts the listener in a good mood, and even managed to translate that atmosphere to their live shows. Their sophomore release Taste the Secret continued to ride that wave, and their third album Bang For Your Buck cemented their place as hip hop’s comical upstarts. After three years in the wilderness, they return with Audacity, their most ambitious effort to date.

Kicking off with I Won’t Let It Die, their familiar usage of horns overlayed with subtle drums, as Andy and Dizzy trade verses. Right from the get go, it seems they’ve decided to try their hand at singing harmonies, and unlike many rappers, they actually do a pretty good job. The Takedown is more understated, a simple beat that breaks out into another horn section, while It’s Gone has that trademark head nodding sensibility behind it.

The press release behind Audacity includes definitions such as ‘daring’, ‘bold’ and ‘impudent’, and the title track discusses the act of being audacious. Ugly Duckling’s fun lyrics take centre stage here, as they compare historical figures like Rasputin, Andy Warhol and L. Ron Hubbard to the audacity of “big chicks with rolls who wear midriffs”. It’s one of the best tracks on the album, further highlighted by Young Einstein’s short display of turntablism (but it’s a taste of things to come). Falling Again sees UD go down a different path with a slower number about struggle, without making it overly deep. It’s a departure from their usual sound, and shows the trio displaying a wisdom that wasn’t evident in their previous releases. The boys continue on this path with I Want To Believe, slowing down the tempo, as they come to crossroads with faith. Thankfully, while the Christian themes are obvious, they don’t come across as preachy.

Now no Ugly Duckling record would be complete without a Young Einstein focused track and on Einsten Do It ( Night On Scratch Mountain) he doesn’t disappoint. Einstein cuts together snippets of other classic hip hop tracks as he weaves his way through scratch trickery. Right Now has a sort of funky latin jazz feel, and serves as a sort of pep talk for the apathetic. “Right now, it’s time for you to decide, you’ve got to make up your mind, stand up you know you can’t hide, you’ve got to make up your mind”. It Never Mattered is another slow burner, the funky horns downplayed by the lyrical content which talks about putting aside feelings of hurt and learning to forgive. “All of the words they say, that debt’s been paid in full / all of the things they did, you can let it go / the hate, the hurt, the fear, the greed all just disappears when we can see / it never mattered at all”. Closing out with Oh Yeah, Dizzy and Andy talk about finding a time machine to take them back to ’89 to reclaim their lost youth at a time when they weren’t as cool. It shows a maturity to their music that’s probably been gained from years of experience.

What’s different about this album is that the songs sound a little more complete. Put that down to more experience, or Young Einstein improving with his production. In any case, Audacity is their most accomplished and sincere effort to date, but they haven’t lost any of their fun loving nature. Musically and lyrically it’s more complete, and they’ve done what many acts have failed to do. Find a balance between serious and silly. They want to show that they’ve grown up a lot, but that doesn’t mean they have to become boring. Probably Ugly Duckling’s best record yet, one thing’s for sure, you can’t spell audacity without UD.