So Solid Crew: They Don't Know

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

The long awaited local release of the studio debut by the already infamous London garage/two-step crew shows that, yes, there is more to them than tough geezer attitude. But there are about 30 of them, so understandly They Don't Know does go on a bit and many of its CD-filling tracks are spent repeatedly throwing down the lyrical gauntlet to those who are (sigh) "either with us or against us".

It's hard not to get the feeling that the clan's creative talent lies not within the many and various voices but the producers and DJs behind the irresistibly spikey, futuristic, spartan dance hybrid. Among the mike-men and women, it's hard not to warm to Romeo and Lisa Mafia on Deeper ("Y'think I'm deep? I go deeper than the graves where they bury the foot-and-mouth sheep"). And its particularly Brit-rap/ragga/soul sensibility is another saving grace, especially on the title track, its reprise Envy and the nifty, tongue-trippin' 21 Seconds.

Yes, maybe They Don't Know should be subtitled When To Stop or How To Stay out of the Nick, but at its best, it's dancepop vital enought to be life-threatening in a good way.

Label: Independiente/Sony