The Love Theme – Two

This is, as the name suggests, the second EP/mini-album from The Love Theme, AKA Dominic Owen. Must admit I've not heard the first one, so how this compares I can't tell you. But I can tell you it's… pretty good, actually.

If you imagine a Freestylers or Dub Pistols only in a more 2010 kinda style, you're somewhere in the right ballpark. As such I'm liking this, rather than loving it loving it loving it, because inherent in such an MO are traces of the kiddie crunk electro with noo wave attitood or whatever you want to call it that blights 50% of the Top 40 these days. Particularly on the track Bum Bum Bum. But I did say 'traces', because when this EP's not strutting around in a stupid trucker's cap and too-bright trainers, it spends quite a lot of time windin' up its waist to gut-wrenching basslines, skankin' riddims and ragga chat. And that's always a good thing.

Oh yeah, and you get a blast of disco too, in the form of Owen's own remix of Boogaloo, which also comes with a skanking-as-above Riccicomoto DubClub Session mix that sits somewhere between bassline, dubstep and breaks, and a Cottonmouth Remix that's like housed-up dubstep, or maybe dubstep-tinged house. You decide.

All told, then, Two is a little bit more raucous and teenage and Prodigy-ish (see Tension) than might normally feature on TIWWD. But it's also… yknow, pretty good, actually.

Out: This week

About: This is on Permanent Damage, who you can visit in cyberspace by clicking here.

And it's got a very strange cover, hasn't it?