(Fingerlickin/Inertia)

Clear the roads, evacuate the cities and batten down the hatches: the latest mix album from the Plump DJs is about to hit the streets. The day the UK breaks duo drops a whole bunch of new production material is nothing to be scoffed at – the shockwaves from the blast will be felt in nightclubs around the globe. Their rise to the top of the dance music heap has been faster than a snare roll in a peak-time build up, and few would dispute they’ve developed their own signature sound. But the question begs, can they maintain the ridiculously high level of expectation that surrounds each impending Plump DJs release?

Plump groupies can relax, because Saturday Night Lotion will be a mainstay in the record boxes of big-name breaks DJs for many months to come. The quality of a Plumps set is often directly proportionate to the amount of their own production material included in the mix, and joyfully, Saturday Night Lotion is compiled almost exclusively of their own tasty studio concoctions, with no less than 11 new tracks and 2 remixes on offer.  If that’s not enough to get the punters excited, then the reworked version of Lee Coombs’ classic Shiver will certainly do the trick. An irresistibly funky way to open the album, it features an infectiously bouncy bassline, tight percussive layers and the signature quirky samples shooting throughout the mix. The production is super tight, the chunky, thundering beats almost divine in their application. The Plump DJs are still the masters of delivering the hook that reels you in faster than you can say, “Holy mother of god, that was one fat break.”

The new tracks are all infused with an all-out rock n’ roll sensibility; there’s no room for introspective chin scratching here, and even less space for sitting back and taking a breath. You’ll reel helplessly when the beat drops in Soul Vibrates, and run for cover when the 303 hits in the electro-heavy Acid Hustle. Their remix of the Freestylers’ Push Up has been doing the rounds for some time now, but it still hits the spot – a spot that’s fevered, pumping and sweaty, effortlessly wiping the floor with anything else currently booming out of club PAs. The sounds are sweetened up towards the end with Screwball, before it’s turned back around again with the utterly explosive wind up of Kinky.

But Saturday Night Lotion is not without its weaknesses. Rather than consolidating the huge leap forward made with Eargasm, it disappointingly settles for evoking the old-school Plump DJs sound heard during the Plump Night Out era. It’s pure dancefloor fodder, with many of the tracks built around a single idea or hook rather than polished and built upon like top-shelf contributions like Creepshow or The Gate. They’re shooting for cheap thrills, rather than refined sonic pleasures. Musically, the fever is still cranked up to ridiculously high levels – it’s just that in a few respects, the Plumps have taken a couple of steps backward.  But oh my, when you first hear those hooks… Hot damn.

Disappointment is inevitable for those expecting the next big thing from Saturday Night Lotion, but at the same time, so many new Plump DJs tunes on the one release is a temptation few could resist. This is Plump DJs to the letter, by the formula, so it’s lucky the formula works so damn well. To maintain their status as the biggest and best in breaks they’re gonna need to take things in a few new directions, but for the moment, Saturday Night Lotion offers a relentless selection of jumpin’, pumpin’ Plump style funk, and for most that’s going to be more than enough. This is pure, speaker-shaking body-rocking material. Don’t expect anything more, but certainly don’t expect anything less. The Plump DJs’ bullet train of explosive beats and sure-fire hooks are heading your way – get on, or get out of the way.