Rinocerose: Installation Sonore (V2)
It has now reached the stage where to comment on the arrival of yet another beguiling French dance album is simply superfluous. From Montpellier, Rinocerose mixes and matches very diverse sounds into a winning formula. Deep house flourishes which owe a few ounces of respect to Faze Action, rolling techno grooves which are more chunky than clunky, percussion which may just have left that smokey 1970s basement where Santana and War were holding a four-day impromptu jam - and that's before we mention the chiming and jangling guitars sprinkled liberally throughout. Add a sense of erudite mischief (a track called 323 Seconds de Musique Repetitive avec Guitare Espagnola does indeed feature that amount of flamenco flourishes) and some very smart ideas, and you have one of the finds of the year.
Jim Carroll
Dubtribe Sound System: Bryant Street
Dubtribe Sound System may have been producing glorious Latin grooves for global dancefloors for quite some time now via their Imperial Dub label, but their debut album still arrives as something of an eye-opener. While many can produce thrilling 12-inch after 12-inch until the cows come trancing home, few house producers can maintain both momentum and diversity over a full-length album. What Sunshine and Moonbeam, the newhippy couple who are Dubtribe, have done on Bryant Street is to gather a bumper pack of top-drawer Latin grooves, glee and glitter for our amusement. From the block party bravado of No Puedo Estar Despierto to the rolling brass and epic vocal of Ain't Gonna Do You No Good, it's obvious Dubtribe have a good idea of what constitutes a very good time.
Jim Carroll