With Dirty Mouth off to pursue a solo career,
Trillville return as a duo on
Straight Up. No Chaser, an unsurprisingly limited album that's still appealing to anyone craving more crunk in his system. Remaining members
Don P and LA -- formerly Lil LA -- still know how to get a party started and here offer numerous champion weekend numbers. "Toast to That," "Mmmm, Hmmm," and "Money Line" ("Every time my phone ring, that's money") are hard to resist and "Married to My Money" is lovable for incorporating the traditional "Wedding March," but
Don P and LA ride it until the wheels fall off, and true to the album's title, offer nothing but machismo, hedonism, and the love of money. The duo at least sounds inspired through it all, and the loss of Dirty Mouth isn't as noticeable as the loss of producer
Lil Jon.
Don P takes over his duties for the most of the album and the results are scrappy attempts at reproducing the
Three 6 Mafia sound, moderately successful and mostly forgettable. Knowing that the duo had its last album canceled by its label injects a little charm into the affair, since there's no sense of being bitter or down and out. Despite all obstacles,
Trillville are back on their feet and fans of Southern crunk will appreciate their return. [
Straight Up. No Chaser was also made available in a shorter clean version with all explicit material removed.] ~ David Jeffries