Paper Tiger – Laptop Suntan

The appeal of Paper Tiger's debut full-length album is exactly the same thing that makes it slightly underwhelming, although absolutely competent. This is the kind of release that Ninja Tune made their name with – taking electronic and synth-driven productions and adding a large dose of funk and London hip-hop swagger, mixing in a few guest vocals from the likes of Homeboy Sandman, Infinite Livez and Bang On!, over smatterings of agreeable, chirpy post-grime beats.

When it works – as on the bubbling Air, or the footwork-flavoured, jittery Treasure Town, or even the Brainfeeder-esque neo-soul of Irresisitable – the results are enjoyable, but as a whole, the album feels a little too much like territory that has been conquered more convincingly by a raft of producers from Coldcut to Hexstatic to Wiley, exacerbated by some run-of-the-mill lyrical turns. A good album, but not a great one, Laptop Suntan feels strangely dated from the off. [Bram E. Gieben]