West London’s Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba have now been around for 15 years, starting as breaks and triphop groovers before embracing guest singers and rappers, now expanded to a widescreen aural panorama which uses hiphop roots as a springboard into something often quite glorious. They now feature one stunning vocalist in 22-year-old Jessica Darling, who really is something special. Their Easy Access orchestra members Ralph Lamb and Andy Ross are now full-time members, making this a mean five-piece [augmented on four tracks by legendary bassist Pino Palladino, who’s played with everyone from De La Soul to the Who]. With their brand of expansive funk mated with a movie soundtrack passion for names like John Barry, the results are explosively action-packed and monolithic. Blasting jazz and 70s funk riddles tracks like ‘The Next Spot’ and moody ‘Blackwater Drive’ while MC Yungun Aka Essa livens up the juggernaut funk of ‘Just Won’t Stop’. The closing credits roll over the floaty ‘Stranded On Earth’, definitely a nod to the astral majesty of Pink Floyd. This is the sound of a collective which has found its sound, spirit and the confidence that this summer they are set to do some serious damage. A brilliant example of how the music which started in devotees’ bedrooms back in the 90s has been able to blossom into the realms of heady greatness.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
