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The first track is called 'Soul Searching' and it is the one that is getting into the charts of the likes of the Kyoto Jazz Massive. Soulfully broken but sounding eerily familiarly with the vocals of Marilyn David (Shade Of Soul/4Hero) and a cool flute solo (Han Litz) but it ends in a whimper and there's better to come.

The previously issued single 'Pheromone' passed me by first time around so this is sounding really fresh. Turned up in Nova Forma's playlist so DJ Jerry is feeling it in Poland and it's one for the dance floor. Mixed in with the broken stuff is the spacey Moog moanings, Jasmin Tusjada on vocals with some Amp Fiddleresque male vocals, funky bass'n'keys with bongos to top it off. How did I/anyone miss this in November? Excellent.

'Reggae Roots' is nothing to do with reggae or roots. It's a slow burner shuffle with male and female vocals that tease and twist with the flute and sax with some indo-jazz percussion. It has a reflective 2 Banks Of 4 feel to it and a happy liquid bass solo. If Smooth FM had a decent playlist policy they could replace some of their tired old worn-out tracks with this. That'd boost ya ratings Smooth! This could be a big summer tune.

The same could be said for 'Matter'. A little downtempo 80s soul that breathes on Break Reform territory with a groovy bass. 'Quest' is another but funkier with roots-style percussion and the flute again. 'Macy Miles' gets into an even funkier form of samba shuffle with very nice horns and Rhodes. Male vocal and all round great performance; one to come back to as catchy.

'Into Darkness' has a Pharoah Sanders style modal sax minute intro into -- while the main tune is based on 'Another One Bites The Dust' -- so that's me lost but they do disco-funk well.

Similarly, 'C-Frique' is preceded by a minute of 'Interlude'. The latter's samba drum rolls with crescendo synth strings abruptly stop for the Bugz in the Attic influenced broken sound of the former. It's an instrumental in the 70s funky Rhodes and moogy mode and if you dug your way into some old vinyl and found this you be very happy indeed. So don't bother and just get this brand new. Similarly, 'NPM' with the Beat Poet modal offering. 'They say you should never ask why? I say, "Why"?' would be a great 'find'. It's a shame it's over in a mere 2mins 29secs. 'J&B' is the funk-fusion instrumental, slower and thoughtful jazz keyboard and trumpet (Matthias Bergman) solos explore the longest track on album at over 7 minutes.

The next three tracks sound like they were all part of a separate project / recorded at a different time. 'Nerd Rock' is more funkiness and goes off in a Stevie style sing song - Pharrell with Wah Wah funk peddle! 'Roots Go Deep' is similar and is pure Fiddlerishness with a cool trumpet solo. And what does 'My Crazy Vein' sound like? This is perhaps the most Flowriders-style of them all; broken, Dwele style vocals, 4Hero strings, indo percussion, funky keys and Fat Freddy's Drop Horns with a touch of acoustic guitar to finish. Gilles will want a session from this lot in this vein. The last track 'Gentle Wan' is their attempt at Flowriders with D'n'B and it's the one that didn't work for me.

The male and girl vocals add great variety to this album; all the flute work is great, the bass and percussion funk with power. So there's something for everyone, which in this case hasn't lowered the standard. Mass appeal that will extend beyond my favourites of 'C-Frique' and 'J&B'. Personally, I prefer the older style Soul ones to the girl vocal ones (except 'Pheromone', which is superb). I suppose the only reservation is that if you didn't know the album, you could hear any number of these songs and you wouldn't be able to say, "that's the Flowriders" without being told. The best way to overcome that problem is to follow the Hectic pheromone recommendation and get the CD. It's certainly got a VFM sticker on it.

(4 Lux) CD Release Date 9 May, 2005