The problem with being a Basement Jaxx fan is that one day you may find yourself staring at a record collection that contains an inordinate amount of cheddar. Sure it may have been fun at the time, but that's still really no excuse, is it? By now, it's probably a safe bet that Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton know the location of that fine line where retro-fun turns into garish kitsch – and yet they choose to torment you anyway by tossing out singles like 'Hush Boy'.
Jaxx have been here before: it's a polished groove that they carry off very well, all lightweight funk basslines, programmed trumpet flourishes and requisite blips and beeps. The chorus, however, could have done with a rethink:
"Husssh! Boooy!" a breathy and salacious Vula intones.
"Do you want me for your girlfriend??!!" barks Fozzie Bear from The Muppet Show.
Neither banging enough to warrant employing the hydraulics in a lowrider, nor loose enough really to get the hips swinging, 'Hush Boy' sounds tailor-made to kick out of the speakers at a backyard party in Hoxton where everyone is just drunk enough to not care what they're dancing to – i.e. just before the heavens open.
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4Nick Cowen's Score