Album Review: Tebi Rex - 'It's Gonna Be Okay'

It’s been two years since Maynooth duo Tebi Rex released their full length project The Young Will Eat The Old, but it feels like charismatic pairing Tebi Rex have been around forever.

Matt O’Baoill and Max Zanga perfectly combine their love for alternative hip-hop with a rock edge on It’s Gonna Be Okay, exploring tricky subject matter like capitalism, mental health and death with their usual quick wit. Littered with constant cultural Irish references and colloquialism (even squeezing in the phrase “stop being such a langer”); the softer tone of O’Baoill’s vocals and laidback charm aligns perfectly with the depth of Zanga’s often-deadpan tone and personality. With frenetic beats, guitars riffs and frustration at modern Ireland, the work has tenacious energy.

Edgier aspects of ‘Deadman’, ‘Oh It Hurts’ and ‘Deadman II’ align with the softer tones of ‘Fear Lasta Lampai’ and ‘Hanging With Trees’, which features Roe’s angelic vocals. ‘A Tree In The Woods’ delves further into the conceptual woodland voice that guides the genre-bending lads along the project. If the mixing appears darkened, warped and confused - that's the point.

If Kildare somehow produced Tyler, the Creator’s creativity and Childish Gambino’s sense of humour, it would likely sound like It’s Gonna Be Okay.

Listen: ‘Oh It Hurts’
7/10

It's Gonna Be Okay is out now via Republic Of Music.