Taking their cue from the likes of
Meat Beat Manifesto and Liam Howlett's
Prodigy, New York's Ming + FS turn out their third full-length of breakbeat fusion. Something of a mixed bag, each track possesses its own strengths, whether it's the swirling keyboards of the opening "Steady Shot" or the swaying jeep-beat G-funk of "Nevada," though unlike
Jack Dangers' aforementioned
Meat Beat Manifesto, more often than not this eclecticism works against the pair, with "Dope Dance" and "Think Test" fizzling to a pointless meander, while the switch of "Retrace" from loping groove to mashed amen-break drum'n'bass sounds as ridiculous in practice as it reads in theory. As the albums continue to flow, so Ming + FS hone their skills still further, with these promising producers at their best when working more straightforward rhythms: the easy grooves of "Misdirected" or the block-rocking electro-soul of "Worldwide," where '80s hip-hop stabs pop and locks into position, sly cuts which sit uncomfortably amongst an album disabled with a few too many idiosyncrasies. ~ Kingsley Marshall