Album: Evil Nine

You Can Be Special Too, MARINE PARADE

Evil Nine are but two, the studio mix duo of Tom Beaufoy and Pat Hardy, whose work here occupies similar territory to Leftfield, with big, authoritative beats propelling subtly shifting, minimal soundscapes. The formula is best represented by the opening cut, "Crooked", where the looming ambience and rolling bass, studded with brittle cowbell percussion, supports Def Jux rapper Aesop Rock's sneering diatribe on urban dystopia - "We don't like it when the city people get crooked, 'cos if the people are crooked, then we can't get down." Elsewhere, other guest vocalists add to the mix: Juice Aleem's randy rap on "Pearl Shot", Toastie Taylor's sweet reggae vocal on "Restless" and Tomo & Blackitude's low-tolerance-threshold rap over the monotone twang of "Earth", a place with "No mercy if you're innocent/ No Viagra if you're impotent/ No education if you're ignorant". But it's the lock-tight, assertive Evil Nine grooves that stick in the memory: the chunky, majestic "Devil Stuff" offers a more persuasi

Evil Nine are but two, the studio mix duo of Tom Beaufoy and Pat Hardy, whose work here occupies similar territory to Leftfield, with big, authoritative beats propelling subtly shifting, minimal soundscapes. The formula is best represented by the opening cut, "Crooked", where the looming ambience and rolling bass, studded with brittle cowbell percussion, supports Def Jux rapper Aesop Rock's sneering diatribe on urban dystopia - "We don't like it when the city people get crooked, 'cos if the people are crooked, then we can't get down." Elsewhere, other guest vocalists add to the mix: Juice Aleem's randy rap on "Pearl Shot", Toastie Taylor's sweet reggae vocal on "Restless" and Tomo & Blackitude's low-tolerance-threshold rap over the monotone twang of "Earth", a place with "No mercy if you're innocent/ No Viagra if you're impotent/ No education if you're ignorant". But it's the lock-tight, assertive Evil Nine grooves that stick in the memory: the chunky, majestic "Devil Stuff" offers a more persuasive Krautrock impression than anything on the Death in Vegas album, and the urgent soundbites ("We have the power/ We have the resources/ We have the energy/ Let's get together and wreck shit!") lend a Primal Scream flavour to the rolling powerhouse of "We Have the Energy". This year's Plump DJs?