Letherette

After four EPs and remixes for the likes of Bibio and Machinedrum, UK duo Letherette drop their self-titled debut on Ninja Tune. Immediately, it feels like being tossed into a Euro club a decade ago. There's the muffled build and encompassing drop on "After Dawn," spastic, screeching keys and soprano voices feeding a loop at the close of "The One," a time warp and spiralling synths on "Warstone," and a remarkable resemblance to Daft Punk and Bag Raiders on single "D&T." The album is ridiculously fun and surprising, in that it sounds like much older UK electronic rooted in the present. What's quite out of place though are the distinctly lagging tracks that dawdle across the album. While the numbers aren't necessarily unpleasant, the slower, melancholic, downtempo qualities they embrace sound alien. Letherette almost comes off as two competing albums — the upbeat Euro-house beating out all else. Much slower songs like "Gas Stations & Restaurants," "Cold Clam" and "Boosted" don't necessarily pull you out, but certainly take away from the charisma of the faster-paced tracks. Rather than alternating tracks, splitting them up about halfway would've served the album better.