MF Doom - Metal Fingers Presents: Special Herbs Vol 5 & 6

Another volume in the ever-deepening Special Herbs series, this instalment finds DOOM-working under his Metal Fingers alias-at his most locked-in and textural. Tracks like 'White Willow Bark' and 'Valerian Root' stretch out into murky, hypnotic loops, while shorter cuts like 'Orange Blossoms' and 'Coffin Nails' hit quick and sharp.

Some beats will be familiar to anyone who's rinsed MM..Food or King Geedorah, but they've been pulled apart slightly, looped a little longer, left to breathe. The sample sources are still a wild grab bag-children's records, soul, jazz, dusty TV clips-but the stitching is seamless. Like the rest of the series, it's more than a beat tape. It's a sketchbook, a time capsule, and a blueprint all in one. Essential listening for anyone who still finds magic in a loop and a swing that's just off-centre.