The Fruitbat

On their debut, Tha Fruitbat play a quirky and thick version of drum 'n bass that's entirely out of step with the hyper and slick jungle and drum 'n bass of 2004. There's barely a dancefloor tune included, although "Crush" comes close until it crashes into a mess of a conclusion. "Unleashed" is excellent with a dog-growl break, and the bits of Big Audio Dynamite on "Zanuba" are great fun. Generating no memorable hooks, Tha Fruitbat are less rewarding when they play it straight -- a little spaciousness in the production would have helped a lot. A bit to sludgy to endure in total but there are just enough clever twists to give this rare headphone-oriented drum 'n bass record a try.