New Forms II - Roni Size & Reprazent

Advantages: universal appeal
Disadvantages: earlier material is better

...Bristol's best known musical collective return with the follow up to their 1997 Mercury Music Prize winning album New Forms,but they're boasting a rougher more frentic sound.A mish-mash of drum 'n' base,hip hop,rock and R&B,with rapping from the likes of Dynamite,Method Man and Rage Against The Machine's Zack De La Rocha,there's a heavier vocal assault than you'd expect.The best tracks are the brilliant opener,Railing and the funky System Check for that Reprazent sound.This album would appeal to people who are in to a wide range of music aswell as the diehard fans... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average not helpful

Advantages: simply incredible music
Disadvantages: couple of slightly unappealing experimental tracks

...It seems bizarre that I am actually writing a review for this album. People will come and read this review if they are thinking about buying it, yet if you are thinking about buying a Drum 'n' Bass album, you will know about this one and have it in your collection already. Nevertheless, for those who are still here and not feeling small, I continue.... BUY IT!!! Never before has a single disc of shiny hard plastic so powerfully reinvented a genre. Roni Size / Reprazent present some incredible melodies, meaningful lyrics and some blazing beats right through this strong album. It's totally groundbreaking drum 'n' bass, and has already stood the test of time in my collection.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Good tunes- Rahzel great
Disadvantages: done before?

...Bristol deejay and producer Size's '97 debut New Forms was an aptly titled breakthrough in electronica with its hypercharged fusion of futuristic drum 'n' bass with bebop jazz. It was, and remains, untoppable. But his long-anticipated followup In the Mode comes as close as anything could. Returning to a dystopic urban-jungle landscape, Size and his backing quintet navigate a labyrinthine funhouse of smacking speed-freak beatboxes, disorienting vocal syncopation and brooding keyboard robotics familiar to fans. But compared to the impenetrable two-CD New Forms, In the Mode is accessible. More of these tracks qualify as actual songs, with lyrics, verses and choruses amid the skeletal squiggle 'n' slam. Two standouts: In Tune With the Sound, with human beatbox Rahzel, who weaves his magic so seamlessly with Size's you can't tell where... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful