After years as nu-skool breaks' most ardent flag waver, Adam Freeland makes the transition from DJ to artist admirably on Now and Them. Having popularised the techno/house/hip-hop hybrid from here to Australia, and produced a string of fine mix albums in the process, he will be known to most. Even so, this debut from the band that bares his name is an unexpected triumph. Pitching between searing beats and uncommonly sensual soundscapes, socio-political barracking and wicked humour, it's an alluring display, aimed as much at the head as the dance floor. "We Want Your Soul", a seething grind of analogue snarls, robot voices and jackhammer rock, comes with a shout-out chorus and an anti-consumerism message that's driven home by samples of scathing US comic Bill Hicks, while "Mind Killer" pulls similarly bombastic moves with sinister rap warnings about a world governed by fear. Elsewhere the pace may be slacker, but the sense of lurking menace is undiminished. "Burn the Clock" is all juddering metallic guitars and eerie atmospheres, while the gloopy electro and whip-crack beats of "Big Wednesday" are seductive in the same disturbing way as Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker". Sexy, sophisticated, brutal and incendiary, Now and Them has all the hallmarks of a true cult classic. --Dan Gennoe
