Album Review: Idjut Boys - Cellar Door

Starting out in the mid-'90s as contemporaries of Basement Jaxx and Faze Action in a scene dubbed 'nu-disco', London duo Idjut Boys have since forged their own path. These days, long gone are the funky basslines, the glitterball FX, and, for the most part, the beats. As suggested by the title of their new album, Cellar Door, nowadays the boys may more likely be found indulging in a fruity pinot than hands-in-the-air piano, the set having more in common with indie shoegazers than the DJ world, albeit with a healthy dose of dub to keep it edgy, and, maybe, on the decks of Ibizan 'chill-out' spinners.

This is made obvious from Rabass' jangling guitar opening, flowing into the rousing vocals of Shine, Sally Rodgers doing just that over spacey, dubby, psy-indie reminiscent of Screamdelica-era Primal Scream. One For Kenny is the highpoint of the set as restrained 4/4s, wonderful piano lines and electro-disco basslines momentarily raise the temperature before being forced aside by the moody guitars of Going Down. The chillometer goes off the scale on The Way I Like It, acoustic guitars and Rodgers combining ever so delicately, before Love Hunter juxtaposes a pulsing, menacing bassline with yet more jangling acoustic guitars and spacey FX. Finally Le Wasuk falls over the precipice into a more full-on dub sound, wonderfully supported by dark synth burbles and tinkling live piano.

With indie, dub and dance sounds all at work it is hard not to deploy the word 'Balearic' in relation to Cellar Door; it's a set that cements the Idjut Boys as far more than simply dance music producers. Chill it does in spades, impress it does in parts.