"Hamburg Night" is, in some ways, a perfect title for any German techno outfit to kick off an album with, not least someone based there like
H.O.S.H. (aka
Holgen Behn); if the city was never quite ground zero for that country's electronic explosion, its lingering status as defiantly independent port of call to the outside world gives it mystique to play around with. The guest vocals from
Ost & Kjex add a bit of their classic yearning aspiration over the minimal arrangement in post-house style (a bit more late-'80s
Prince can be heard as well, and not just in the singing) and with that,
Connecting the Dots kicks into its easygoing groove, not an explosive reinvention or new approach to anything in particular but an accomplished enough collection of songs in a familiar vein. Polite builds and breaks, understated classic house piano parts as on "Cash the Chord" and the slickness of "Crackhead," and further guest vocal turns courtesy of Mistress Barbara further flesh out an enjoyable if not completely remarkable listen. Sounds like the classic "Out of the house music!" slowed-down vocal sample on "Body Jack" appear for an understandable reason, but transformed here into something a little more cleanly languid than frenetically overdriven. It's a nice touch nonetheless. ~ Ned Raggett