Album Review: The DOT - And That

Introduced during the 2005 Big Day Out festival while the two men rode high with the respective musical vehicles that made them famous, Mike Skinner (The Streets) and Rob Harvey (The Music) have finally come together in totality, notwithstanding Skinner's 2011 swansong, Computers And Blues. The result is And That, 11 tracks that do their best to run rings right around you with dizzying effect.

You'll see this album as one of two things: a) a brave exercise in release and daring, or b) a rudderless ship sailing a sea of incomplete ideas. It depends on how deep you want to get. When they keep things on a focused line for three or four minutes, such as the futuristic Metronomy-esque hop of Shut Up And Keep Talking or the downtempo trip hop soul of Right Side Of Madness, the immediate engagement is undeniable. But when they take a myriad of styles and try to compact them into a singular nugget of song – Weapon Of Choice a perfect example – you're left with a dog's breakfast.

Honestly, there are some ideas on this self-titled release – be it a tempo change, a harmony or a lone wailing guitar – that are legitimately revelatory. But then you're suddenly enduring Harvey crooning something like “Fuck me like you used to” (Like You Used To) or some ill-advised clarinet, and you're snapped into clarity wondering just what the fuck you're subjecting yourself to. But with two of Britain's most notorious party monsters claiming responsibility how could you expect anything less than a trip? You won't hear another record like The D.O.T.'s debut this year – this is both a good and bad thing.