Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Fellow Aussie David Evans pressed a copy of this EP into my hand when he was here for the Cross Rhythms festival. In many ways this ploughs a similar furrow to Mr Evans' work in that it is a potent mixture of rock'n'dance and has songs that immediately engage the heart. What you actually get are five pretty stonking songs, three of which are given remixes. Thus the discofied feel of the opening of "Explode" soon mutates into a huge anthemic piece of vibey stadium rock. The remix however paints the song in techno-colours giving it a ferocious dance feel. Whatever, it works in both styles and Justin's strong voice communicates well! My favourite is probably the title cut where again we are given two versions of the track. The first is an insistent throbbing piece of techno rock with edgy guitar and totally hooky chorus whereas the remix is a paired down floating vibe out! "Do U Want" launches out with that strong guitar sound and big beat but the chanting bass vocal underpinning sounds like some sort of Aboriginal chant! Full of musical energy and power, Justin Mark's debut EP is an excellent calling card. Can't wait to hear more!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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