You may not know or care, but I am currently living in the country, working as a journalist in a town where the only night club juxtaposes Barnsey and Farnsey with the latest top 10 hits. Where the girls serve beers wearing naught but a pair of nipple patches, a g-string and garter. Where drum and bass has no place. Thankfully, I have a decade and a half of clubbing memories seared into my conscious, so the right kind of album can send me spinning back into the subterranean spaces and smokescreen if I just… close… my… eyes.

Enter, State of Mind. I am fairly confident that this offering wouldn’t get a guernsey on local decks, but that can only be a blessing. This is drum and bass of my favourite kind! Languorous and rolling without too many clanging bits that make you want to take bites out of the nearest wall, this is music to get the head down and dance to (Lucky there’s no clubs around, actually, because I’m not quite sure these old bones could take the pace). And guess what – it’s made by our cousins in New Zealand! They’re also given the big ups to local heroes Pendulum for their undying support. Onya dudes.

The duo comprising Patrick Hawkins and Stu Maxwell say this – their first full-length album – has been two years in the making and coincides with the launch of their own record label, Som Music. It seems the years they’ve put into polishing their sound has paid off, because it’s clean and sharp – and a quick peek at MySpace reveals about a squillion fans. Strong and pumping bass never becomes overwhelming and the melodies remain unthreatened for the duration, which sets this album apart from a few moody clangers of recent years. I reckon if they keep going the way they’re going, State of Mind’s budding hero status will spill over our way too.