The Drumattic Twins have been at the forefront of the breaks genre since it emerged. As part of the seminal Fingerlicken’ label, the duo have been responsible for some of the label’s biggest hits – the massive Feelin’ Kinda Strange is one prime example. In 2009 they toured the country for the first time in 5 years on the back of their new LP, Hammer & Tongs. The album’s tracks are beatmixed into each other, and combined with the fact it contains singles released years ago, it doesn’t feel like a true artist album. That said, it’s a solid compilation that accurately charts the Drumattic’s recent prowess in crafting broken beat dancefloor destroyers.

Don’t Be So Drumattic offers a banging sub stomp with a cheeky computer altered vocal sample, sure to rip clubs apart. Sound Of The Drum and Drum Thunder continue the theme of bigroom breaks, glitchy samples, and massive drops. The classic track Twister pops up as an exercise in nostalgia, and despite being released in 2005, it is still an early highlight of the mix. Under The Lights has a different feel to the opening punches, with a delicate vocal and smooth ethereal groove. The track provides a great late night, spaced out club breather with a euphoric build-up.

Deep Throat snakes the seedy hook from that all-time classic dirty movie, and turns it into a slice of disco funk. Hyperspeed sees the boys bring a fast, glitchy formula back with a release from 2007. Broken Planet has a festival worthy riff that takes on an almost Eastern influence. Heartbreaker follows on to give us another well deserved breather, whereas Back To The Old School introduces a rave piano riff inspired by the duo’s musical experimentation back in the 90s. Fly Young Canaboids has a massive stumbling bassline, but the glitches accompanying the sound are now all-too-familiar. Pick Me Up Baby drops the intensity for a cruisy glide into the latter part of the mix. Soul Flower is another chilled out groove, as is Antique Vinyl which has some funk guitar & cowbell action going on.

There isn’t a whole lot of variation in the execution of this mix – the first few tracks hit the hardest but are certainly not the most interesting. The last few tracks are downers rather than uppers, and the inclusion of older hits provide some variety, sitting well with the more recent production work. While Hammer & Tongs is a superb introduction to the minds of two very talented individuals, I can’t help but feel a true artist album (with more room for experimentation) would be more satisfying than just another breaks mix.