Un-cut - The Un-Calculated Some

From the opening smokey jazz influenced drum & bass of "Midnight" there's a feeling that Un-cut are destined for great things. So far the urban music scene hasn't stretched out of London with So Solid, Ms Dynamite and Dizzee Rascal pushing forward the boundaries and Manchester trying to compete with the likes of Rae & Christian who despite a dedicated following are never going to change the musical landscape.

Based around the vocals of Jenna G (who we know from back in the day with Subliminal Darkness) and the production team of 2D and Darren Lewis who provide a cross section of sound for the G to vibe over. Former single "Fallin'" and "Loveless" are without a doubt the albums standout tracks and perhaps the most traditional as well. The former delivers the laid back grooves of Soul 2 Soul, while the latter shows Jenna's development from just being a female MC trying to break through to a singer who can deliver a truly heartbreaking torch song. Raw, honest and the sort of song that could only come from a rainy northern city, "Loveless" is the work of real genius.

Where "The UnCalculated Some" differs from other Urban albums is that it never becomes tired or repetitive. From the r&b of "Skin II Skin", the funky brass stabs on "Things You Do", the old skool dub of "No Way" and the acoustic ballad "Lost In Music" genre's are dipped into and promptly discarded as their imagination takes them down a different path. Only "Music Is M" loses the plot and sounds like a spoken word monologue from a youth theatre production.

Uncut are a band who let the music speak for itself. There's no forced image and no aspirations to be the next big thing. They've got the belief that means they will follow their own path regardless of current fashions and that's what sets "The UnCalculated Some" apart from the pack. It's an album for come down reflection as well as the dance floor.

Alex McCann

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