Leftroom 19 welcomes Detroit's Eric Johnson to the fold. Making their intentions for 2010 immediately clear, the label storms out of the block with 5 chunky slabs of playful, modern house music. All five cuts sit comfortably with the label's unhinged dance floor vision, heady and kinetic with tonnes of character. With his first attempt Johnston steps into line with Leftroom policy by crafting an instantly anthemic record that keeps its underground credentials firmly intact. Initially forging a brooding atmosphere underpinned by compulsive rhythms, the curve ball effect of Tied To The Door comes when Johnston drops the main vocal hook. Devastatingly effective in its bitter-sweet delivery, the childlike cries are expertly spliced to add an unhinged lurch that will send the floor into raptures. Tempering the madness of the A is Needs to Know, a powerful cut of modern US house that bristles with impatient energy and demands play. Alluringly poised, this one will not go missing in the club. Subtle, tripped out effects retain the air of confusion but the teasing vocals a playful hook are propelled with such power by an insistent beat that this track has little time to hang around.