TTC - '3615'

TTC's return to the French hip-hop fray gets a welcome release on Big Dada, and has certainly seen its' share of good press. Undeniably, the production is superb. Forward-looking cut-and-paste electro, with a rock-solid old school grounding, opener 'Quand Le Clacque des Doigts' is fantastic- a booty-shaking slow skank that oozes sex. Friend and collaborator Modeselektor's offering 'Une Bande de Mec Sympa' is also great, a Spank Rock-style slice of digital 4-4. Unfortunately the middle section of the album limps where it should swagger – ideas are repeated, and the nasal screams employed on 'Paris Paris' grate unsatisfactorily. Para One's production is superb throughout, but the main criticism stems from the rhymes. TTC simply seem slow compared to other rappers currently ploughing the electro furrow, and at times they sound less like accomplished electro-booty MCs, and more like the Baha Men. That said, the highlights of '3615' are tremendous. [Bram Gieben]