Resist
(BMG)
Kosheen are lauded in some circles as the next big thing, probably because they hail from Bristol, the English city which gave birth to 1990s musical pioneers Massive Attack, Tricky, Portishead and Roni Size, among others. But while Resist is a listenable album with some decent tracks, it doesn't chart new territories like the band's predecessors have.
Instead, Kosheen wear their influences on their sleeves, from the Dido-esque Harder to the Roni Size-influenced drum'n'bass track (Slip And Slide) Suicide and I Want It All, a track which Portishead could have made five years ago.
The trio made their name with a British top-10 hit last year with the infectious Hide U, although it took a John Creamer and Stephane K house remix of the original drum'n'bass stomper to achieve that. Both versions appear here and the original jungle version is one of the few genuine standouts on the 16-track album.
But towards the second half of the set, it drifts into blandness, beginning with Hungry, which sounds like they've borrowed a standard formula to crossover dance success from Everything But The Girl.
