Any musician with big enough malt balls to call himself Chocolate Genius is worth checking out. Marc Anthony Thompson (a.k.a. Chocolate Genius) admits that he"s a sucker for a pun. Which brings us to his release, Black Music. Black Music refers to the dark, desolate nature of his songs (dark chocolate if you must). "If the songs were all fast, I"d probably call it Race Music," he jokes. And Chocolate Genius? To my dismay it"s neither a porn nom de plume nor nineties blaxploitation. Thompson calls Chocolate Genius a groove rather than a group. It"s a name shared by whomever is in the room while the music is being made. I suppose the guy who delivers pizza to the studio and the fly on the wall share in the Chocolate G. Popular New York City acidic jazz musicians John Medeski and Chris Wood dipped their talents into the chocolate as well. Thompson"s songs, evoking the wry despair of Mark Eitzel, are hymns of urban grime. The pains of alcoholism, love and aging ring out like a confessional as his gruff voice looks for hope in hopelessness, for a savior in empty bottles. Songs like "Hangover Five" and "Hangover Nine" fill a record that reeks of liquor and addiction. "Hangover Nine" is one of my favorites a creepy groove thing that takes you into the mind of an alcoholic by way of Thompson"s disoriented spoken word. It"s loaded with broken promises, self-loathing and cool guitar effects. I am emptier than yesterday"s raincoat. V2. 2005.