Hilltop Hoods’ fifth album is a testament to perseverance. By 2009 the Adelaide trio had established themselves as one of Australia’s premier hip-hop acts yet were still to receive commercial radio play, something that finally changed with the single “Chase That Feeling.” The song “Fifty in Five” was also the product of persistence—utilizing a sample from a 1960 song called “Twenty Ten,” which pondered what the world would be like in that year, MC Suffa spent three months writing the answer, penning lyrics that break down the events of 1960 to 2010. A harder, darker album than 2006 predecessor The Hard Road, moments of braggadocio (“Super Official”) are balanced by more philosophical songs, with MC Pressure writing “Last Confession” for his son, and “She’s So Ugly” airing the trio’s frustration with the state of hip-hop. Other tracks draw on pop culture for inspiration: “Chris Farley” is an ode to the American comedian. If the three-year gap between State of the Art and The Hard Road had some wondering if the Hoods still had it, the trio scoff at such concerns in “The Return”: “You spit like Bon Jovi/We spit like Bon Scott/We got it on lock, deadlock, nonstop.”