DJ Scissorkicks

You have got to give Anthony Chapman, aka DJ Scissorkicks, full marks for effort. He is interested in not only getting you on the dance floor but in also keeping you there with a forceful and persistent breakbeat that makes anybody left sitting down look the fool. On his premier full-length release, Video Computer System (named for Chapman's enthusiasm for anything joystick related), the former keyboard player, turntablist and rapper for Collapsed Lung inundates the listener with a crowd-pleasing potpourri of breakbeat, drum & bass, ragga and house. This is a take notice party CD from the UK DJ likely to appeal to freestylers and Fatboy Slim fans alike. Unfortunately, Chapman's love for rowdy beats does become a little relentless, giving him the tendency to go overboard with jump up tracks that beg to be cut short. The bouncy rhythm and lyrics of "Lost Luggage," for instance, descend into a shameless repetition that challenges the listening endurance of even the most hardcore dance music aficionado. Still, the CD's 12 tracks are designed for the dance floor and they thump on with an aerobic force that will appeal to the party-minded, which is to whom Scissorkicks directs this album.