The hottest thing to come out of Holland since Heineken, Kraak & Smaak burned up dance floors in 2003 with their hit single Money in The Bag. Their debut album, Boogie Angst followed a couple of years later. Now the trio are back with their unique blend of future soul, funky breaks and general mayhem to get you off the sofa and up and dancing. Featuring collaborations with Moloko’s Mark Brydon, Dudley Perkins and Ben Westebeech, the group have put together a very solid album in Plastic People.

Starting off on a more electronic edge we are served up with Bobby & Whitney, rubbery synths and a hell of a lot of cowbell are the order of the day. This electronic style flows on with the title track, Plastic People, for a sound that isn’t really in keeping with their previous form; the group really excels, expect a slew of remixes soon!

The highlight of the album is definitely future soul number Squeeze Me, vocalist Ben Westbeech laying down an incredibly powerful lead, backed up with a funky ass break. In Man of Constant Sorrow, the trio remix an old bluegrass tune made famous in the Coen Brothers film ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou’. Interestingly enough, this tune was released as a cheeky bootleg years earlier, but is featured in a new form as a fully legal edition.

Older K&S fans will love the Rhodes on That’s My Word, as will the hip hoppers with this down tempo number featuring the lyrical wit of Dudley Perkins. This album has more styles than fashion; the claustrophobic beats and ominous clarinet on Cornered are worlds apart from the house beats laid down in California Roll. Other highlights on the album include Ready For Life, featuring some beautiful female vocals and the Chi-town influenced Ain’t Gonna Take It No More.

This is a funky album, no doubt about it. The mixture of breaks and beats is top notch, a couple of flat spots later in the piece are easily ignored as the rest of the album shines enough to distract you.