Paranoid London Vinilo y CD

Review: Given their famously militant approach to music formats, it's a surprise to see Paranoid London's previously vinyl-only 2014 debut album finally being issued on CD. For those who missed out first time around, it's well worth checking. As you might expect, it makes great use of both vintage analogue equipment and similarly old skool influences, in turn doffing a cap to Phuture-style Chicago acid, Inner City, hip-house, Green Velvet, Dance Mania style ghetto-house, and stripped-back, dancefloor-friendly machine soul. Despite the ragged nature of some of the material, it's both hugely listenable and hangs together impressively - no mean feat given the DJ-friendly nature of the tracks. It all adds up to a retro-futurist treat.

Review: For obvious reasons, Paranoid London tend not to say much about their popular 'Pledits', series, which see them rework, sample, combine and breathe new life into a variety of classic cuts. What we can say is that every single track in the series so far bangs hard and has been caned by DJs with taste. 'Music's Insane', the opening cut from their latest batch of reworks, is another weighty workout - a restless Chicago jack-attack blessed with moody pitched-down vocal snippets, 8-bit electronics and a mind-mangling bassline. On 'From The Back', they add reverb-laden vocal snippets to a hybrid beatbox electro/Chicago house beat, while 'Poignant Dexter' is a breathlessly energetic, drum-machine driven chunk of acid house/ghetto-house fusion that will ignite peak-time dancefloors.

Review: Paranoid London are named as such for a reason: the English megacity really does instill a low-level sense of paranoia and dread. So why the hell not lighten up now and again? That's just what this dubious duo have gone and done with 'Suck A Dick'; replacing their usual EP-cover representation of Big Ben with a giant phallus, Paranoid London have successfully drawn an astute analogy between masculine dominance and the totalitarian dominance of the state. Featuring the unmistakable vocals of regular collaborator Mutado Pintado, it's a guaranteed floor-filler, unusually humorous for the pair's austere, distorted repertoire.