John Kerry’s people should hire Romy Hoffman as a speechwriter. With airtight lyricism, brooding, musty-basement beats and a directness that’d make apples and earthworms wither, the Australian MC known as Macromantics cuts to the inside; she fiercely asserts “The world isn’t color or black and white/it’s bloodshed,” before dropping the beat to declare her mission: “Macromantics believes in peace and the kids.” Like spiritual homeboys Aesop Rock and The Streets, she also directs her lyrics inward, questioning her psychic balance-but when she spits delicious consonant clusters like, “Yep/dead retro/mind’s on death row/hang onto the cable for dear life/don’t let go!” you think her cadence alone might be enough to save her.