MORESOUNDS レコード& CD

Review: French murksmith Moresounds continues his jagged beat assault with four straight-up gems on Om Unit's Cosmic Bridge. "Ting N Tings" is every rave tape pack and Vibealite flyer in the world condensed down into a short, sharp, energetic and multi-layered shock. "Mutation Experts" flexes back on a system-primed halfstep that cleverly mutates into a skippy breaks energy midway, "Ruff Times" murks up the feels with a stripped back percussive rolling aesthetic that's laced with seriously far-out instrumentation while we sign off with the sedate shimmers and tones of the guitar-strumming, bongo-stroking Balearic nodder "Positive Yourself".

Review: MC-focused EPs aren't particularly common in D&B. They're even less common on Critical. In fact this is the first. And it's a delight from the off as Redders teams up with mates old and new for a body of work that's more album than EP. "No Go" is all space-funk oddness with barely a bar in sight, "96 In One" is rapid fire storytelling over a dancehall version, "Dem Ones" is Redders' take on a dry-humping love song while "Sexy Or Sweet" sits somewhere between Toddla T and Barry White. Winding up "Aphasia" sees Redders and Sam flip Ruffhouse's dark tribal stamps into a carnival killer and "Vintage" sees the Bristol-based MC go toe-to-toe with the best MC in the game. One of a kind.