Cause & Affect: Mistakes (Rinse)

Cause & Affect (not to be confused with the early 90s synth-pop project Cause & Effect) is the project of Birmingham duo Chris Lorenzo and Kane, and Mistakes is spot-on for the trend of current dance acts harking back to the 90s for inspiration. The Korg M1 perc organ of “Mistakes” is infectious and familiar all at once (Robin S’s “Show Me Love,” anyone?) but the arrangement is crisp and clean, irresistible. Its low-end bass line is dancefloor perfection, deep enough to rumble a PA or headphones alike, everything else snapping into place perfectly overhead. “Dimensions” shares Disclosure’s knack for punchy bass and augmented, syncopated chords, but it’s lean and eschews any of the pop song crossover Disclosure are lauded for.

“Bird Flu” and “Foorest” are more tracky, less hooky, but no less well-produced. The former has a curious bleepy lead over a crisp drum track and no real bassline (unless you include its subtly pitched bass kicks), something in common with “Foorest,” the last track, which also features some tightly crafted drum programming without much of a bassline at all. Its drums remind me of a cleaned up treatment of an artist like Blawan or Randomer, not quite as abrasive, and with its rougher edges slightly buffed out, but still far more tracky than the 2 tracks that kick Mistakes off. Highly recommended all around, particularly for the first two cuts, but solid from start to finish to my ears.

Buy it: Boomkat | iTunes | Amazon