Hit-the-floor-or-else 4/4 beats from clubland It Girl, media darling, celluloid heroine and all round multitasking energiser Ms. Slack, chucking at punters an incessant electro-snagged, zip-bass ice breaker. Pumpingly direct, with Slack’s Age of Love-mixed with-Nightbreed vocals emerging from the back of the track, looking from a voyeur’s vantage point over the dancefloor in a pussycat/misfit style that purrs as much as it flashes its piercings. JS’ stubborn behaviour, including a scowl-ridden breakdown bringing out low-sweeping keys, is in good observance of her resident position as Torture Garden groundskeeper.
Around the Block shows Slack operating at an efficient rate when breaks come into her sights. Phaser-stunned chords gulp resoundingly over rolling bass, and a thoughtful breakdown shows her in a more meditative light than the one where her word is the be all and end all. The cold-blooded, forceful travelling makes it a little uninvolving and lacks a hook to grab onto, turning ...Block into an argument about whether JS is adhering to rudimentary values or simply isn’t prepared to colour outside the lines. Whatever the outcome, it’s a steady, supplementary feather in Slack’s cap.