The Singles Jukebox

Drum-and-bass-still-on-the-map…

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[5.36]

Chuck Eddy: Herbie Hancock and Lipps Inc. have nothing to worry about.
[4]

Anthony Miccio: The only reason I don’t assume this is a theme song extended to single length is that television producers would demand more of a hook.
[3]

Tom Ewing: My strong impression of the modern UK DnB scene is that it’s become the exclusive passion of 18 year old boys on a year out before university, sitting around playing videogames and getting extravagantly stoned. Listening to Sub Focus has made me take a long hard look at these prejudices before reaffirming them completely. Everything in this song except the boshing jump-up drums sounds ghastly and doesn’t work with anything else, and I never actually want to hear it again, but despite that it’s the kind of idiotic racket that I can only look upon with fondness.
[6]

Martin Kavka: I find many things annoying about this track — the guitar rhythm in the opening fifteen seconds that is lifted from “Eye Of The Tiger,” the instinct to put every dated dance record from the 1990s in a blender, and most of all, the crap video. (Boys imitate Charlie’s Angels, and then one turns into an extra from Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty” video and enters into a parallel animated world.) But then I went back and listened to Music For The Jilted Generation. This is soooo much better than anything on that album, which really has not aged well at all; the breakdown here is especially effective.
[6]

Michaelangelo Matos: Hits me where I used to live so squarely I can’t help but sneakingly succumb.
[7]

Martin Skidmore: Heavy on processed vocal sounds (they sound very ’80s to me) carrying much of what tune there is, and rather more rock guitar and electro synth than you expect of drum & bass – really, the complex and hyper drums are the only element that suggests the genre he generally works in. What we end up with is still pretty rousing, even storming and anthemic at times.
[8]

Alfred Soto: The first half bumps and grinds like [i]Pretty Hate Machine[/i]-era NIN, which isn’t my cup of tea these days. The second half does the rockafeller skank in equally familiar places.
[5]

David Raposa: Sounds a lot better when it’s trying to rip off Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” than when it upshifts into a new DDR level. And the (inadvertent?) Rick Rubin beatjack don’t sound so good.
[4]

John Seroff: “Rock It” is a rampaging, anachronistic, wind-up toy monkey that would’ve been at home on the Wipeout XL soundtrack. Okay, it’s sub-Ratatat. Sure, it’s sub-sub-Daft Punk. It’s even sub-sub-sub-Orbital. But when the beat duROPS, it’s a legit “Eye of The Tiger” ’09 and I’m happy to make permanent room for this on my running mix. Probably best if you’re on a treadmill or in a big city or (as I found) both at once.
[8]

Frank Kogan: Electro cuteness broken up by tiresome power chords. Plodding. I hate what happened in the early ’70s when rock crunch got reduced to routine, but I’ve always had an infinite delight in ridiculous electro silliness. Until now.
[3]

Kat Stevens: I think this track has eaten too much Haribo Star Mix.
[5]