MSYMIAKOS Vinilo y CD

Review: With 'Vibes', Dutch drum & bass/jungle outfit Cat In The Bag temporarily let the feline out of the case, yet they still retain enough integrity, and rein in the shellage, to the extent that the cat is nonetheless seduced back in after a certain time. Such is the art of alley-cat drum & bass, comparable in mood to "rollage"; it's all about a fine balance of hard-hitting impactfulness and careful vibe-restraint, else the mog'll arch its back and dash off elsewise. No wonder the first tune's called 'Level Vibes'; Dial-M and Msymiakos achieve an intricate, intelligent mood of levity, a belief-suspensory dread zone in which level-headedness serves as a proxy for the execution of a skittish agility, as of a cat. Our feline reccy no less reliably scours the 'Frontline'; amens penetrate hard garrisons of bass and atmoss with relentless keratinous claws, proving retractable paw-blades really can break walls. The B-siders, 'Warehouse Dub' and 'Dub Rock', provide more novelty appeal, preferring to build sound(e-)scapes that both build upon and take flight from the warpath.

Review: If you like your drum & bass hardcore then add this one to the basket immediately. It's a banging fifth outing from the Oldschool Shoes crew that comes in the form of a three-way collaboration between Flex Luthor, Msymiakos and Riffz. Opener '777' is brain-fryingly intense with a barrage of rusted drums, snares and drilling baselines all set to explore any set. 'Abyss' keeps the pressure on with more manic drum programming and 'Ripples' then explores more stripped back but no less kinetic patterns. 'Delayed Response' shuts down with thrillingly dark soul.