Mount Vernon Street

At the forefront of the largely ignored Philadelphia drum'n'bass scene, the duo GFS (comprised of longtime friends Joe Candidi and Justin Geller) puts together a solid showcase of its electronic sensibilities in this oeuvre. The album demonstrates the tandem's authentic education in the jungle/rave scene as well as the pair's ear for jazz, hip-hop, and rock rubrics. GFS offers both a standard take on traditional high-tempo drum'n'bass as well as a more musical approach by adding some rather accomplished touches of live instrumentation (mainly keys along with some upright bass, guitar, and horns). The first five tracks on the album are not GFS at its best, as tired drum sequencing and hollow snares lull the listener into something of a dentist's office stupor. But after the deep bass drops midway through "Tribute" (track six), the remainder of the album becomes a multi-layered expedition through wave after wave of the crew's synthetic galaxy. Philly soul meets raver mystique on "Curved Glass" and "Sunday Afternoon in the Basement" followed by the sonic mishmash of "Z Chamber" and "Regret V1.0." Taken as a whole, this offering is a fairly kinetic montage of futuristic sounds. ~ M.F. DiBella, Rovi