Review: Friction's mighty Shogun look back over one of their best years to date with this epic album of 2022 highlights. From Pola & Bryson's unavoidable anthem 'Tell You What' to DRS's yearning 'Want You Back', the full range is here in all its glory. Ideal for those who've missed anything, it's a great reminder how broad the Shogun sound can be as we're eased and teased between utter gutter munching paranoia jams like Sustance and Duskee's 'Scum' to sublime soulful cuts like Bcee and Javeon's gilded 'Worship'. Splendid.
Review: The label's suffered a little from Man Utd Syndrome over the years but for me, you just can't fault a Toolroom comp: they always offer great VFM, and as quick bi-annual (or whatever) snapshots of 'where house is at right now', they're unbeatable. The headline for this installment is that, where the Toolroom story over the past few years has mostly been about label boss Mark Knight getting back in touch with his soulful roots, this set leans a little more to the tuff n' techy side. But with 50 full-length tracks to choose from, plus two hour-long DJ mixes - and with that M1 drop on Azete's 'Born Bad' worth the price of admission on its own! - you really can't go wrong here.
Review: The Vanguard Project combines Bcee and Villem, two long-time liquid titans who have their debut LP as a duo out very soon. A self-titled piece of work, The Vanguard Project brings 12 new tracks alongside 14 classics from their joint back-catalogue, a sprawling release which dips its toes into virtually every flavour imaginable. 'Everyday is Stolen' feat. DRS was the first single to be released and we can see why, a standout track that beautifully combines his talent for spitting with singing. 'The Unknown' and 'Wicked Man' are both perfectly weighted jungle tracks, full of soul and bursting with the character of music which packs edge and funk at the same time. Dynamite MC and Leo Wood also both feature, the latter is a regular on Spearhead now and 'Elevate' is a driven, bass heavy track that frolicks with vocal touches and funky guitar flourishes. Unreal stuff here from two legends of the game.
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