Crookers - Tons Of Friends

Written by the B&B Crew

Italian beatsmiths Crookers seem to have made quite a few famous friends in between toppping charts. Their aptly titled debut album Tons Of Friends sees will.i.am, Kelis, and Soulwax amongst others popping up for collabs. Here’s our verdict.

We’re not too keen on those lazy-ass producers who drop 5-track ‘albums’ (it happens, it’s called conceptual, you know…), but Crookers seem to have set the goal to put as many tracks on an album as possible: a whopping twenty in total, with each tune featuring one or more guest. Now let’s hope quality wins over quantity here…

The album opens with We Love Animals, of which the first two minutes consist of a rather annoying electrohouse synth modulation. Luckily, Soulwax’ typical rock beats make up for it, although the track itself has to rely too much on Crooker’s trademarked breaks and cuts to stand out. Luckily, No Security (featuring Kelis), is a completely different kettle of fish that showcases Crookers’ versatility: heavy dubstep beats ‘n bass, punky vocals and crafty hooks create a hammering club track, but it goes downhill again on the third track. Can someone please expel Pitbull from the music industry? This man’s by far the most annoying, deprived-of-any-skill-whatsoever- ‘rapper’ we’ve ever heard. His discography is to be categorized under ‘epic facepalm’, and the track Natural Born Hustlers is no exception. It’s as trashy, man-skanky, and redundant as the title does suspect. Big failure. Sadly, we’re not too surprised by will.i.am’s input on Let’s Get Breezy and Spank Rock’s vox on Park The Truck, but the grande dame of 21^st century disco is there to end the misery. Roisin Murphy vocals on Hold Up Your Hands sounds completely different from what we normally get to hear from her, but the combination of down-tempo dubby electro and her signature vocals create a rather compelling blend.

Slowly, we’re starting to get a bit more hope again. Why, we even can’t resist nodding our heads to Hip Hop Changed ft. Rye Rye and the moody minialism on Cooler Couleur fr. Yelle. Royal T with Roisin Murphy simply hits it hard (awesome track, hands down!), ganja is lit on the dancehall powered Arena ft. Poirier & Face-T and the baddassery on Tee-Pee Theme in co-operation with beat-bangers Drop The Lime is a one-shot bullseye as well. One of the stand-out tunes on this album comes in the form of the supercollab Jump Up that sees Major Lazer, Leftside and Supahype teaming up for a Kuduro-style hiphouse tune that in all its simplicity will bring down the roof of any club. Funky, hot as well material. By now the mood’s fully switched to happy-mode, so we didn’t bother listening to the Day N Night Acapella that closes the CD. We did later, raised our eyebrow, furiously hit Stop multiple times and decided to never play it again.

20 tracks may have been a bit too much after all, but it must be said that Tons Of Friends has become an impressive and dynamic artist album. Crookers’ stamp is all over and you either love or hate it, but it can’t be denied that their sound oozes with (commercial) club potential. That’s basically what this album is all about. Dance floor destruction. Crookers tend to go over the edge of cheesiness at some points, but in the end we cannot conclude anything else than that this album is simply very well produced in accordance to today’s club-ruling eclecticism.

Tracklist

1.We Love Animals – feat Soulwax & Mixhell
2. No Security – feat Kelis
3. Natural Born Hustler – feat Pitbull
4. Lets Get Beezy – feat Will.I.Am
5. Park The Truck – feat Spank Rock
6. Hold Up Your Hand – feat Roisin Murphy
7. Hip Hop Changed – feat Rye Rye
8. Cooler Couleur – feat Yelle
9. Birthday Bash – feat The Very Best, Marina & Dargen D’amico
10. Put Your Hands On Me – feat Kardinal Offishal & Carla Marie
11. Royal T – feat Roisin Murphy
12. Remedy – feat Miike Snow
13. Arena – feat Poirier & Face-T
14. Tee-Pee Theme – feat Drop The Lime
15. Transilvania – feat Steed Lord
16. Have Mercy – feat Carrie Wilds
17. Jump UP – feat Major Lazer, Leftside & Supahype
18. Lone White Wolf – feat Tim Burgess
19. Day N’ Nite (Acapella Skit)
20. Embrace The Martian – feat Kid Cudi

Rating: 7.5 / 10
Label: N.E.W.S
Release date: March 22, 2010

Crookers feat. Kardinal Offishall - Put Your Hands on Me

 

 

 

 

 

 

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