- Omnipresent on vinyl from the tail end of the 20th century to the first half of the '00s on their prolific Music For Freaks label, Luke Solomon and Justin Harris, AKA Freaks, resurface on Crosstown Rebels, showing that they've lost none of their edge with a typically off-kilter production.
"UMakeNoSense" in its original form has quintessential Freaks motifs: A bite of acid, samples vying for priority and a nice droning bass underpinned by a tireless beat. This serves as the mainframe around which sounds are draped on all versions featured here. Radio Slave's Rekid Riddim remix starts as it means to go on with some rimshots, peaking and troughing depending on which effect is being called into service. The Music For Freaks remix similarly has the drums upfront, but this time the beat is more urgent and damp, accompanied—invariably—by a vocal snippet.
Low-end frequencies and peak-time dynamics are the order of the day here. Freaks have always been masters of the epicurean groove. This isn't necessarily a return to past glories, but it's a more than adequate piece of prime time dance floor quirkiness, and that's what they've always been about.
Tracklist A UMakeNoSense
B UMakeNoSense (Radio Slave's Rekid Riddim remix)
Digital: UMakeNoSense (Radio Slave's Music For Freaks remix)