Busy Beats and a Slow Drawl

Timbaland is no fool. To kick off his new label imprint, Beat Club Records, the hip-hop producer has tapped a white rapper whose nasty charisma and greasy verbal skills could give him Eminem-like appeal. But Bubba’s inner life isn’t nearly as compelling as Eminem’s--his Southern redneck persona leaves little room for pained introspection. Instead, it’s all about pursuing hotties and pounding booze in the bed of a pickup.

What’s remarkable is that Sparxxx can make us care. He has fluid flow and a tart, Mason-Dixon enunciation when the situation calls for it. On “Bubba Talk,” which is sure to ring out from schoolyards everywhere, Sparxxx drawls “Y’all don’t know me at all ... I say the same thing but slower than ya’ll.” It’s a good, not great, shtick that would wear out its welcome in a hurry were it not for Sparxxx’s sly self-deprecation.

The production (including the six tracks handled by Timbaland) is ceaselessly inventive here, as hand drums, flamenco guitars, ghostly violins and other fugitive weirdness jockey for position with busy, tangled beats.

“Dark Days, Bright Nights” is Southern gothic as pulp comic book, unsettling and appealing in equal measure.

*

Ratings: * (poor), * * (fair), * * * (good), * * * * (excellent).