Swimming Pool

Swimming Pool’s debut album is good collection of house grooves. "Direct Drive Ninety Five” opens things up with a slow, mellow jazz groove. Things pick up right after that with "Eddy,” a fine deep house cut with great keyboards. But not all the tracks follow the norms of house: there are stranger tracks that belie the duo’s backgrounds in drum & bass, techno, house and experimental sounds. "Diver Part2” starts with solid ’80s electro sounds and beats, but then becomes a dull experiment in percussion and noodly organ lines. It’s followed by "Reprise,” a short dub session that could have easily been left off. At the same time, "Perhaps” is a very good slowed-down jungle track with phasing synths and a nice bass line. But these tracks are all overshadowed by "Living Near the Violent River,” an excellent deep house track that, after a long melodic opening, moves into a seriously sexy vibe. Other good house tracks include the techy "O-ton Left,” and the reggae-influenced "Bypassed.” There are no vocals, and I would guess, no samples. People who like their house a little bit techy and with no disco influences should give this a try.