Reasonable effort

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AT FIRST glance, Roots Manuva's fourth studio album, Slime And Reason, appears to have been formed from the same primordial soup as his previous effort, the deeply awful Awfully Deep.

Slime And Reason showcases the same rich, deep timbre and distinctive vocalisations of South London's Roots, real name Rodney Smith, over bass heavy British hip-hop beats infused with dub and electro influences.

But where on Awfully Deep Roots was prone to shouting his point, leading to a frustrating listen, here the focus is more on subtlety - leading him to produce some of his best work since tracks like Witness (One Hope) and Join the Dots from sophomore LP Run Come Save Me.

After a couple of listens, orchestral inflections and piano hints seem to appear, with the Metronomy-produced Let The Spirit showing an almost U-turn in Manuva's sound.

For this reason, Slime And Reason should be one to stick with for Roots Manuva.