James Curd follows up his superb 'Show Me What You Got' release for Exploited with another pair of outstanding dancefloor jams, backed by some quality remixes as always.
Morgan Phalen features on vocals under his house alias Buddy Zapha on 'Im A Wheel'. Youll known him from his work with Justice on tracks like 'Newlands', 'OnnOn' and 'Randy', where his smooth voice provided a perfect counterpoint for the French acts rugged melodies and grooves. His falsetto delivery glides over Curds light, skippy house beat beautifully, with elasticated bass ascending and descending over swung percussion and a simple piano chord motif.
Sandboards (Feel My Bicep/Rinse) strip back the majority of the vocals, chopping up the pianos and pumping the bass up to make for a chunky alternative. Phenomenal Hand Clap Band take things on a deep disco odyssey on their remix, making great use of the background vocals and drafting in some groovy clavinets for added flavour and depth.
'Fade Away' is the EPs second original track, where tinkling pianos meeting rousing horn blasts, jazzy guitar licks, acid lines and wiggling bass. Brilliantly arranged with many twists and turns, this deeply musical slice of house music is classy and infectious.