(Drum & Bass) Krust - Coded Language - 1999, MP3 (tracks), 320 kbps

DJ Krust has long been the power behind Roni Size's drum & bass throne, and despite a dizzying array of 12-inch releases and compilation tracks, this is Krust's debut full-length. It's both a bit overdue and well worth the wait. The Bristol wing of the U.K. drum & bass brigade has maintained strong connections to its hip-hop roots and never entirely sacrificed the idea of a group to the imperatives of a producer's music. In this case, Krust has partly ceded the drum & bass auteur's privilege, that of crafting the beats, to a live drummer, Soul Coughing's Yuval Gabay, whose unadorned devotion to forward motion makes for a relentlessness that any beat programmer should admire. The CD's centerpiece is its title track, wherein Gabay and Krust's propulsive rhythm and an ominous keyboard riff reminiscent of Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" provide the backdrop for Saul Williams's declamatory spoken vocal, which aims to sweep the entire history of breakbeats and poetry into one apocalyptic rant. The beats are left behind for a couple of interludes of moody string arrangements, and there are five female vocal tunes (sort of a Krust trademark) by a singer called Morgan, who adeptly adds an R&B edge without getting into full-fledged diva territory. --Bob Bannister