This is certainly one of the most startlingly different house-based albums to come along this year, fearless in its musical rule-breaking and totally unpredictable. Simple grooves surge underpinned by driving bass but on that foundation odd voices expound, Eastern melodies creep in, various dub effects waft and, most predominantly, live piano drapes most of the tracks. This can range from the avant garde flourishes of ‘Oh Mio Dio’ and the ghostly ‘L’Anagramme’ to pastoral melodic atmospherics of ‘The Pink Unicorn’, which also uses live drums resulting in the album’s masterpiece. The ever-present jazz influence fully flowers on their version of John Coltrane’s ‘Bahia’, apparently the only legally-licensed sample of the great sax giant sounding stunning amidst a gamut of electronic diversions and star-reaching passages. Whoever these blokes are, they’ve created a real stand-out beauty.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
