Groggily emerging from the comfort of their darkened lounge rooms and reaching for the painkillers, Adelaide’s Funkoars are back once again to drink up every last bottle in the place, pass out and accidentally land on top.

The Hangover is the new album crafted by MCs Mr Trials, Sketchy Hons and Uncle Sesta with the devilishly handsome DJ Reflux. Since their self-released debut, 2002’s Who’s Ya Step Daddy?, Funkoars have consistently proven their worth in the music industry. Their steady rise to the top tier of Australian hip hop is due in no small part to the group’s individualism and tenacity in going for self while others tread a well-worn path. Their caution-to-the-wind approach strikes a chord with the audience, as their sales history and live show will testify. As the main support on the Hilltop Hoods’ Hard Road tour in 2006, the headliners of the 2007 national Block Party and the show-stealers on 2008’s UNIfied roadtrip, Funkoars touring credentials are second to none.

2006’s The Greatest Hits (not actually a greatest hits album, by the way) was branded a classic by their fans for its arsenal of party jams with a sinister undertone. On The Hangover, they’ve taken the recipe to its logical conclusion, dragging the listener from the action-packed night before into the painful morning after. The Hangover truly represents this group of four misfits, digging deeper into their psyches to give a headache to any critic trying to pigeon-hole Funkoars as anything but one of the most raucous and honest groups in the country.

Spearheaded by the psych-rock-guitar-sampling single Black Sally, a song about the perils of alcohol abuse (hey, if anyone knows, right?) The Hangover is a deeper album than their last, but the beats that break things are back in full effect. Production for The Hangover is provided entirely by Trials and Sesta, with the exception of a last minute intervention in the form of ‘Do It Together’, courtesy of concerned friend Suffa. From unnerving introspection on the disco-tinged “Malfunction” to a cynical state of the world address on the metallic “Reign on the Masses”, The Hangover finds the Oars heading in new directions topically and sonically. Like all savvy partygoers, Funkoars bring some friends along to blame for the damage. Fellow Certified Wise members Hilltop Hoods and Vents trade verses with the Oars on “Double Dutch”, while DJ Ad-Fu delivers on the cut on “Bootleg It” and, in an absolute coup, Brooklyn legend Masta Ace pipes up to show us how hip hop is supposed to sound.

While taking a break from recording. Funkoars dug their heels into the national touring circuit, gigged heavily and quickly became fan favourites. Trials also stepped aside creatively and produced two albums, Vents’ Hard To Kill and Drapht’s Brothers Grimm, two very different albums that were delivered to strong reviews and significant radio play for their respective singles, Vents’ richly layered “Love Song” and Drapht’s whimsical “Jimmy Recard” deftly demonstrated Trials’ ability to bring out the best in MCs with his beatcraft.

“This ain’t the future or the best this year / this is nodding heads, holding hands over your step kids’ ears” raps Trials on The
Hangover’s opener, highlighting the Oars belief that it isn’t up to an artist or record label to make grandiose claims about their body of work. Their job is to make the music they want, the way they want. The rest is for the fans to decide.