- Having continued to assure its place as a reliable contemporary club label, Tsuba takes an appropriate side step for its second full-length release. Presumably aware of the fact that an album of ten or so similarly floor-facing tracks as those released on 12-inches wouldn't cut it, boss Kevin Griffiths turned to self-styled "party caterers" The Carter Brothers for something a little different. And it's easy to see why going on the Aussie pairing's output to date. They have churned out everything from full-on disco stompers to stripped tech house workouts in the last year or so, most often on Monty Luke's burgeoning Black Catalogue.
On Metropolitan there is a similar sonic diversity. Across 13 tracks, it's clear they want to take you on a ride. Starting out at a vibey house party, things slowly move through the found sounds of a street walk and into the darkened bowels of a club, before ending up back at home on the sofa with a doobie, chilling to spaced-out jams. As such, a lot of ground and many styles are covered, and although that can sometimes be a recipe for a mess, The Carter Bros are adept enough producers to nail each mood at which they take aim, cogently threading them together into a nuanced night-time narrative.
After the sound of a harpsichord drifts through an underground station on "Metrolude" the ensuing passage is almost a study of genres, from widescreen Redshape moodiness on "Point Taken" to insular deep house via jumbled Revenge-style numbers. As standalone tracks, much of Metropolitan will do the trick on the dance floor, even if a distinctive personality is somewhat lacking. It's their ability to thread these parts together into a greater whole, though, that make The Carter Bros the loveable party caterers they claim to be.
Tracklist A1 Metrolude
A2 Treat Me Right
A3 Schooled
B1 The Do
B2 Forget About
C1 Too Many Lovers
C2 Use It
D1 Rank About
D2 Check Me