Brighton duo Russell Small and James Wiltshire (aka FREEMASONS) have been picking up quite a reputation as in-demand DJs/ remixers over the past couple of years and it's not hard to hear why when confronted by the best moments of their second album 'Unmixed'.
Released by influential Brighton label Skint's Loaded Records offshoot ('Loaded' as in the opposite of Skint - geddit?), 'Unmixed' is a sleek, smart, hand-tooled dance-pop album featuring collaborations from an impressive range of guest vocalists and will surely prove a smash at the more tasteful end of chic parties everywhere. At its' best, it brings dancefloor maestros like Chic and Giorgio Moroder springing to mind and is ultra-efficiently executed from start to finish.
The album was trailed by a couple of 12" singles (this is the dance arena - such things still exist on this planet) and these two are among the most impressive choons here. The Alanis Morrisette (!)-penned 'Uninvited' kicks us off in urgent, propulsive, string-kissed manner and benefits from a racy, dramatic Bailey Tzuke vocal, while the ensuing 'Rain Down Love' - featuring a supreme disco-diva vocal from Siedah Garrett - cleverly pulls that 'familiar yet contemporary' trick and has no doubt been filling dancefloors from Land's End to John O'Groats for the past couple of months.
From hereon in, the formula is pretty much established. This can be a good thing when confronted by a further brace of hi-energy tunes like 'Nothing But A Heartache' and the simply roof-raising 'When You Touch Me' (complete with belting soul vocals from Katherine Ellis), but by the time the album's mid-section bottoms out around 'Love On My Mind' and 'Watchin" it's all getting a mite too predictable, if still immaculately-coutured.
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Thankfully, something of a breather is provided by the niggly, New Order/Arthur Baker go salsa instrumental shapes thrown by 'Desperados' and a decent closing stretch featuring a more than acceptable update of Rose Royce's disco classic 'Love Don't Live Here Anymore' (with vocals from no less than Judie Tzuke) and a saxified and faithfully smooth re-make of 808 State's 'Pacific', both of which pull off the difficult achievement of sounding tasteful but refreshingly free from bland. Not an easy feat, believe me.
In a sense, this reviewer's on a hiding to nothing with 'Unmixed' because this isn't really his area and the (extremely) controlled conditions of morning coffee and a front room hardly provides the best environment to experience such groove-bound, inhibition-losing sounds. Still, for all that, 'Unmixed' is a decent outing which also includes an enhanced section for DJS and producers and will no doubt be a treat for anyone keen on the likes of Phats & Small, Shapeshifters and indeed the smoother end of Skint's output. Job categorically done, basically.
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