Most big beat producers and DJs have changed their direction during the last few years, dropping the cartoon samples and breaks for twisted house grooves. Jon Carter, Cut La Roc and Midfield General have all managed to put out credible interpretations of the house sound, so, on Feedback The Beatniks must feel they’ve a lot to live up to. So, while the majority of the album consists of 4/4 patterns, Neil and Mau have nonetheless succeeded, exploring the grimy, gritty reality of music industry life over raw techno and house grooves. The single and opening track, ‘Disco Dancing Machine’ is the most accessible piece, before Feedback descends into bugged out psychosis. There’s big room techno and house (‘Curled Up In A Bassbin’, ‘Whores, Freaks, Saints And Angels’ and ‘Let Me Be Your Ashtray’), dark yet understated electro-breaks (‘Suicide Mission’ and ‘Low Rock’) and even a Primal Scream-sounding geetar white out, ‘Kris Kristofferson’, each one imbued with a knowledge of the darker side of life, of what it feels like to truly live on the edge. It’s these rough, ready and raw outpourings that makes Feedback such a compelling listen.