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No "difficult second LP" syndrome for this Auckland outfit, this follow-up to last year's 'Release' LP is a bang-on the money, widen the fan base, keep the record company
grinning, bona fide success. HoD's foundation Christiaan Ercolano and Emerson Todd have
neatly side-stepped the little box marked "filtered disco house" that they were being sealed into by many people after 'Release' and have developed a sound that screams "funky
funky funky" in a Commodores-before-they-went-crap style.
From the title and (elaborate, ornate) packaging downward, the whole LP has the feel of an obscure, mid to late 1970's funk or soul long-player, one of those great undiscovered gems that guys like Armand van Helden or Basement Jaxx make fortunes off, sampling and beefing up for mass market consumption.
For the most part, 'Mutha Funkin Earth' doesn't even fire over 120 beats-per-minute, preferring to slug along at a chunky mid-tempo pace, thereby allowing songs to really pack a punch and fully breathe as tracks within a long-player, rather than random singles slung together for some major record label's convenience. "It's On", "K Freak"
and "Dance Radio" do skip along at a brisk pace though, the latter especially, keeping the momentum of the whole package moving swiftly to the great "1st Second" which neatly concludes proceedings. One of the better thought-out LPs to come out of New Zealand in the last wee while, 'Mutha Funkin Earth' is a great package that deserves to be in as many homes, cars, bars and cafes as possible. Essential listening for dance music fans, NZ music lovers and freaks of all persuasions. Recommended. |
