Nursehella

Canada's First Lady of nerdcore returns with her first full-length and follow-up to her 2006 debut release, Nursehellamentary EP, a delay caused by her return to the University of Victoria to finish her degree. Nursehella is a potty-mouthed rapper with her roots planted in the nerdcore scene — she appears in two documentaries on the subject — so expect plenty of nerdy references, especially evident on the slightly-too-long mid-album interlude of nerdy porno pitches. But she also makes off-hand allusions to her drug dealing past and almost the whole second half of the album is explicit sex raps from a strong female perspective. Hella likes to rap fast and ferocious (see "Bitches" for a fine example), but the enunciation and delivery of her lyrics are clear and easy to understand, even if there are rough patches. Karl Olson (aka Ultraklystron) produces nine of the 12 numbers, providing Hella with an up-tempo selection of electronic-influenced hip-hop beats that often verge upon being damn well danceable. The remaining three tracks (two from the Nursehellamentary EP, but buffed, all shiny and new) are produced by Baddd Spellah, fitting in perfectly. Second Coming should please existing fans that have waited a long time, while also serving as a solid introduction of the Nurse to newbs.