Manta Electrica - Manta Electrica

Manta Electrica's debut effort falls short of its apparent ambitions as a piece of deep-house styled in the Soma school. It has an air of retro about it, but for all the wrong reasons: synth effects and drum noises sound worryingly dated and flat, and the arrangements meander through the requisite structures and movements laid down by their influences, but to no great effect. This would have been contemporary five to ten years ago, but today it comes across as an album badly out of sync that can't justify being so, because it just doesn't compete with the best of that period. Do we really need to go back there when even the forefathers of the scene are continuing to pushing forward? What frustrates the most is that a quick visit to their MySpace reveals that they are capable of producing work more worthy of their ambitions, but there is little to no sign of it here. Be sure to check the website first. [Jack MacFarlane]