It's been a very long time since Luke Vibert brought us an entirely new, tongue-in-cheek perspective on drum & bass under his 'Plug' guise. In recent years he's been responsible for many a jungle onslaught from behind the decks, so the Amen Andrews material has been very eagerly anticipated...

...And it certainly doesn't disappoint! The stand-out cut on this 4-tracker has to be '1000001 Style', an amen monster with a twisting old-skool bassline and the reverb set to 'warehouse' for an authentic rave feel. This is not the most original track Luke's ever come up with but it's got some nice touches on the sampler and it certainly does the job on the dancefloor - essential for any junglist's record bag.

'Fast & Bulbous' harks back to the Plug era - with quirky and bizarre samples moulded in a way only Luke Vibert could do. This is definitely the most light-hearted track on the EP (not that any of it is meant to be taken seriously).

At 185bpm 'Starbase One' is not one to be messed with. An initially sinister vibe is lifted with a piano breakdown and a spoonful of humour in the bassline.

'Amental' follows a similar theme. With its ragga vocal and crafty breakdowns neither 'Amental' nor 'Starbase One' would sound out of place next to classic jungle to an unsuspecting crowd.

With 4 more in the Amen Andrews series, a 12" entitled "I Love Acid / Synthax" on Warp out in September and an album to follow, there's plenty more to look forward too from the ever-talented Mr Vibert in coming months.

By Suzie.

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