ALBUM Wagon Cookin' - Eleven

It's been eleven years since Wagon Cookin', AKA brothers Javier and Luis Garayalde, first started releasing house records, making their debut on Chris Duckenfield's Odori imprint. Plus, of course, it's 2011. Hence the name of this long-player, which is actually their fourth.

Eleven sees them pursuing a slightly poppier direction than on some of their previous, more nu-jazz/bruk beat-inspired outings, but that's no bad thing. Things get off to a flying start with No Bossy Girl, a glorious slice of shiny grown-up house-y disco pop reminiscent of classic Om material from the early 00s (think early Kaskade or Andy Caldwell)… other comparisons might be Stonebridge circa the under-rated Can't Get Enough album, or the UK's own Cooly's Hot Box.

Elsewhere, Feel So Good is in a similar vein to No Bossy Girl, while Dance Dance is a Cameo-esque slab of retro 80s-style electrofunk with a naggingly familiar riff. Music Is Not Far is another boogie homage, Sao Paulo provides the more lounge-y, downtempo kicks and Come Into The Light is the album's most out-and-out house cut, while Nicest Aligned with its female rap will please the ageing b-boys and b-girls out there.

Eleven isn't, perhaps, an album that will change your life. But it's one that's worth checking for sure – and one that might make more return visits to the CD deck than you at first suspect.

Out: This week

About: This comes on Smoke N' Mirrors via San Francisco's mighty Om Records. I must admit, some of Om's output in recent years has been a little TOO polished and commercial for me, but this album sees them straddling the accessible/credible divide nicely, just like they used to. So a big shout out to Gunnar & Chris if they ever happen to read this, be in touch guys, it's been too long!

You can find out all you need to know about Wagon Cookin' themselves here.