Breakestra

Although conceived as a tribute by founder Miles Tackett to his late DJ partner DJ Dusk (who was killed in a car crash in 2007), Breakestra's sophomore release is anything but elegiac. Dusk Till Dawn mines the same classic funk and break beat formula of 2005's Hit The Floor. In other words, this is a great party album, as Tackett (who as well as producing and writing, pretty much plays all the instruments on the album) can craft some more than durable early '70s-style funk jams reminiscent of obvious influences like the Meters or the J.B.'s, which are heartfelt, if a bit overlong. Length might be this set's greatest weakness, since things start to run out of steam a bit more than three-quarters through its 73-minute-plus running time. The strongest track here is "No Matter Where You Go," a geographical name check of contemporary funk and soul artists featuring the vocals of Mixmaster Wolf on top of a potent and awesomely tight rhythm section.