(Critical Mass/Stomp)

More refined, club-friendly groovers from UK dance duo

Even before they dropped the big one with their self-titled debut in 2006, Cicada’s Aaron Gilbert and Alex Payne have made names for themselves by remixing the likes of Depeche Mode, New Order, Editors and Client. On second album proper Roulette (named after the duo’s experience of flying back from Russia on a shonky old Tupolev jet), the Londoners pretty much stick to their signature retro-dance craftsmanship all the way through – save for a couple new ideas. Opening with the stomping one-two of 2008’s club smash Falling Rockets and new single Metropolis, the record brings Cicada’s sharp pop instincts to the fore; One Beat Away’s groovy disco-house sits level with P Star’s atmospheric re-envisioning of Technique-era New Order. As far as genre-crossing experimentation goes, Roulette’s most unusual-sounding moment is Executive, Editors’ Tom Smith crooning cryptic lyrics in his patented sonorous manner over processed beats to a rather haunting effect. The Gwen Stefani-aping Psycho Thrills is token pop fluff and the sole disposable track here, yet Gilbert/Payne present us with a few more treats worth savouring as the CD winds to an end. A familiar delight stemming from Gus Gus’s 1999 masterwork This Is Normal, Heidrun Bjornsdottir’s ice-maiden voice adorns the stately Tears, its glistening guitar, airy keyboards and sexy bassline channelling the same magic as Cicada’s finest moment All About You, and the revelatory, euphoric closer Tiad (which also includes an ace hidden instrumental). Iceland = singing, London = swinging.

***½

DENIS SEMCHENKO

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*