The debut album from U.K. four-piece
Def Tex underlined press acclaim to their considerable back catalog of extended players. R-Key's production is ever tight, with wily horn samples and twisting melodics kept in check by an often-thumping low end and occasional scratches from Sure Delight, while vocal tag team Anthropologist and Chrome find themselves supported by a wide cast of collaborators, which counts DPF, Juice Aleem, Ezra,
Cappo, Plus One,
Ty, and the immaculately monikered Huntkillbury Finn amongst its numbers. Although a little meandering at times, burdened with many loping arrangements, the ensemble is at their best when at full pelt, whether it's the city atmospherics stretched over the loping, in-your-face beats of "Fresh Air" or the spine-shivering back end of the smoky "Sing Sad Songs." ~ Kingsley Marshall