Sparkle checks out a mixed bag of singles and EPs this month; Digitonal - 'The Centre Cannot Hold', Si Begg - 'Revolution', The Messiah Complex - 'Fever', Toob - 'The Miscreat', Underpass - 'Multistorey' EP.

It's hard to believe this is only Digitonal's second proper release - their countless live appearances and 2002 LP '23: Things Fall Apart' on Toytronic have made a surprisingly large impact. This EP sees Digitonal team up with vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw - best known for her appearances on Orbital's 'Halcyon' and Opus 3's 'It's A Fine Day' - on the opening track 'Maris Stella'. Ms Hawkshaw's vocals are layered over lushly produced strings and synths to create deep and brooding melodies.

'Snowflake Vectors' (which appeared on the Seed Volume 1 compilation) delves into a bouncier terrain with rich harmonies reminiscent of their Toytronic release, while Samy Bishai's violins add an edgy, more melancholic sound to 'Cantus V' and 'Amberkreiss'.

Beautifully executed from start to finish - looking forward to an LP!

www.seedrecords.co.uk

Si Begg gets political with this the follow-up to 'Buss' - his last floor-shaking single on Novamute. Revolution kicks in with another one of Si's meaty breakbeats intertwined with horns and thundering rolls of bass - a good start. Lyrics "we need a revolution" and "you're living in the past" are topical maybe, but not very original and the dancefloor never was the best place to get a message across. The vocal mars what is a punchy and powerful instrumental. On the flip we have 'Revolution no 2' another chunky, DJ-friendly version.

All in all it's a decent enough record but it lacks the extra sparkle of his recent output.

www.novamute.co.uk

Described as a 21st century rework of Peggy Lee's classic 'Fever' - this by rights should be really terrible record, as it turns out it's just about passable. With an organic drum sound à la LCD Soundsystem and vocoded robot, it nearly pulls it off, but the melody is weak and isn't helped by a cheesy synth guitar sound. The Evils remix has a nice groove - the 'clash kids will like it, but the Culprit One mix is pure awful - real nasty hands in the air stuff.

The only credible cover of 'Fever' I've heard is Susan Cadogan & The Upsetters' dub version. A brave attempt by The Messiah Complex, but the nicest thing that can be said about it is that it could be worse.

Toob is the latest moniker of Richard Thair from Red Snapper, but don't let that fool you into thinking you're in for some subtle semi-live instrumentation - this is an unimaginatively assembled collection of loops backed by a monotonous 4x4 beat. The Elite Force remix aims to make 'The Miscreat' club friendly with a beefed-up beat, nasty breakdown and play-school standard acid.

Very dissapointing! Luckily there's good stuff to look forward to from Lo in the shape of Cursor Miner's forthcoming 'Hair Of The Dog' 12".

www.lorecordsings.com

A strong debut for both Cardiff based producer Lee Marshall aka Underpass and Urban Planning Records. The EP begins with 'Battle' - a heavy bass scuffles with discordant melodies and an electro beat. 'Automatic' - with crazy bass sounds and grinding kick drum - writhes like a malfunctioning assembly robot.

Everything changes on the flip side as Underpass introduces lush textures and bleeps in the gorgeous title track. More abstract than electro but retaining a Detroit influenced beat. 'Vent' enters a more hostile setting with dark, looming melodies and metallic noises.

Whether you're after glitched-up electronics or off-centre floor shakers this is pure quality - check it out!

www.underpass.org.uk