Reviewed by Andrzej Legierski

At present, mainstream acts such as Spooks and Jurassic 5 are delivering laid back, infectious beats to the hip hop masses with much acclaim. Furthermore make their contribution to this vibe with their new 12-track album titled 'She & I'. The old skool feel of "Deliriously Cold" ignites the album with a cool mixture of Run DMC meets Beastie Boys. Just as I was ready to graffiti my living room walls and take the laces out of my Adidas plimsoll's the mood changes quite dramatically into "Thanks For Nothing". The slower pace confused me a little, but this album is full of surprises. As I listened further I found other great tracks such as "Twice" and the title track "She & I". Each track on the album is executed well with fluent, well voiced lyrics coupled with some clever dynamics and cool female backing vocals. There are subtleties of other influences including drum & bass and reggae, the use of live instruments on "Letter To Myself" works very well and demonstrates the flexibility of this band. I kinda wished that the album went the same way as the first track, but I couldn't help enjoying the other songs. What it does lack is big choruses which is the key to remembering a good song, which seems a shame as Furthermore have an abundance. Even though the subtle "old skool" vibe runs throughout this album it comes as a welcome relief that the sheen is not damaged by scratching, annoying loops all over the place which is becoming much less common in the hip hop world today. The genre is keeping up with the Jones' and Furthermore are more than happy to oblige.


Andrzej "Bunky" Legierski is the low-end quarter of crossover/metal band Kosher.

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