TRACK: The Damn Straights – ‘The World’s On Fire (Let It Burn)’: new collab drops a fiery banger

THE DAMN STRAIGHTS is a transatlantic collaboration between Exeter’s Adam Gibbons, aka the connoisseur’s modern soul connoisseur, Lack of Afro, and Maryland rhymer Herbal T, who’d actually shared musical admiration and had decided to hook up and make some bangers quite a while ago.

Adam, of whom one tweeter replying to a single drop we looked at earlier this year said “should be famous”, and they were absolutely on the money, tbf, said of this latest project: “Around four years ago we travelled to NYC and recorded a load of tracks at Studio G in Brooklyn.

“Four years later, after other projects, having kids and worldwide pandemics got in the way, we’re finally good to go!”

“‘The World’s On Fire (Let It Burn)’ was recorded a while ago, but we think it’s even more relevant to the current climate now than it was back then.”

It’s true. Herbal T brings conscious (and anxious lyrics) about the state of things: “Gave up my privacy so I could use some cool apps … now they know exactly where I am on Google Maps,” he sings, while Adam brings a slow grind of funk rock break in Slim Shady country.

And … well, they give it to you damn straight. Sometimes there’s no need for conceptual architecture around a piece of music; sometimes you just need a track that hits you in the brain and the hips.

“The World’s On Fire (Let It Burn)” is the first knockings of what’s to come from the pair. As they say, quite simply, over at their Bandcamp page: “This is their first single. They hope you like it.

“An EP is coming very soon. They hope you will like that too.”