House of Downtown: Mutha Funkin Earth

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * *)

Since their 2001 debut Release, local dance music duo House of Downtown have renovated. Their impressive debut Release was the by-product of a house DJ background, and the pair have now added a bunch of musicians to their studio and touring line-up.

But second album Mutha Funkin Earth still feels like a trawl through the record crates rather than something that rises above the genre. If it lacks much that surprises, it still comes on infectious in its breezy, buoyant mood and a slight eco-theme around the edges (though including a lyric sheet was ill-advised).

Best cuts include the weekend warm-up of Friday Drive, the spiky electro-funk (with rumbling vocal of Tikoa) of Hold On, and the R&B sauciness of Surface and the clavinet-powered Can't Stop. Likeable throughout, but less than earth-shattering.

Label: State/Universal