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Calling your hip-hop "nerdcore," and saying that you pioneered this dubious genre, will endear you to some. But if you're gonna claim this mantle and appeal to the video game-playing, comic book-reading, backpacker set, you gotta have some lyrical skills and employ some talented producers.

San Francisco MC Frontalot's new album certainly contains some zingers that cut through the uninspired malaise that mostly comprises these 14 tracks. "Black Box" is a pointed indictment of election fraud over an orchestral breakbeat, helped immensely by the addition of Random, a far superior MC. "Canadia" is cute, a hipster play on our neighbor to the north that samples their national anthem and wonders about differences in pronunciation (again, helped out by two MC's who put Frontalot to shame). But songs like "Listen Close" find him rhyming haltingly over a poorly produced live drumbeat with a Nine Inch Nails-mimicking sung chorus. And "Socks On" veers dangerously close to commercial R&B-infused rap music.

The beauty of hip-hop is its diversity; you can't peg it into one particular style or form. But behind every concept needs to be a little heart and a lot of soul, two ingredients Frontalot seems to be missing.

 Standout Tracks: "Black Box," "Socks On" JONAH FLICKER