Jay Denham - The Truth

It's been nine years since Jay Denham released an artist album, but this sounds worryingly like it could have easily come from an earlier time. A lot of the tracks here are based on good ideas, and there are flashes of inspiration such as the energetic title track, and the frantic tribal rhythms juxtaposed with the soft tones on Germs. But there are also moments where nothing seems to happen. The Long Way works as a piece of ambient techno which gives the album a sense of structure, but alone it feels like empty space for its duration. The soulful vocals aren't that soulful either - the come-ons of Come On are clunky and awkward, and altogether it's a competent, if standard, funky techno album rooted in the past. It's not terrible, but it begs the question: do we still have a need for this? [Scott Ramage]