Ed Case

There are a lot of other discs that make the same old claim of authentically representing the underground sounds of UK garage, but pirate radio star Ed Case is one of the few to be trusted. The 19 selections he's gathered here touch on R&B, reggae, house and even something so out of place as the Gorrilaz' "Clint Eastwood." Hitched with an energetic pulse and the accompaniment of a fierce, unnamed old-school deejay on the mic, the vibes don't just flow throughout this mix, they rush as Case hits listeners off with anthems of sexual infidelity, jazzy horn stompers and other heavy-pressure beats. What's really different, though, is that for the hipsters who've grown used to two-step's rhythmic base (that skippy swing now being introduced en masse to the North American massive via British soul crooner Craig David), there's a whole new language of streetwise attitude on this particular disc that turns the beats out in ways that are fresh and unique. Jammin's "Kinda Funky" lets loose the hardest with dark, edgy breaks rolling against an acidic jerk of the bass. The tracks really take off though when their lyricism turns sexual, like in the ecstatic exhalations of "I love the way you rip my shirt off and then hit me off," on Wideboys' "Sambucca," and the comedy in lines like "Shoulda known better than to sleep with your best friend," on Monsta Boy's "Sorry." Keep bringing it on.