The associated press release begins with a brief news section which will be relevant to any fans, so I have included it as follows:

With the anticipation of a new album, this EP provides the perfect opportunity for The Freestylers to whip up the music world, and reignite their following. This of course is currently twinned with a small UK tour where their back catalogue will no doubt feature heavily, favouring this release.

The first track ‘Bounce To This’ has been remastered and this is represented in the sharp and clean production that is audible throughout. The song dives in and out of genres and creative passages allowing time for the music to explore different tempo and tone without loss of detail or quality. Having heard this song in previous years, I have always felt it blends many experimental moods, almost as if a mash-up creates the identity of the track. It doesn’t follow the trend of similar artists and it captures the listener by including a combination of sounds and melodies. It is possible to hear some reggae based influence and there are sections which use rapping for lyrical style. This track achieves the five and half minute point with relative ease and is an enjoyable listen.


‘The City Dub’ is the second track and it relies on a female vocal to guide the song, complete with a technical and pure sounding piano. This adds a more interesting element instantly to the song and the first minute could easily be mistaken for a pop record, where more dance genre based elements are omitted in favour of a simple approach. The Freestylers represent a professional output of music, where they clearly love to experiment and with this, treat each release as a unique entity. This is represented in their diverse delivery of ‘The City Dub.’ I favour the regular inclusion of female vocals as it adds a great atmosphere to the track, similar to the Utah Saints song ‘Ohio’ which offers a similar effect. An impressive effort by The Freestylers.

‘The Cracks’ has a more underground, dirty sound surrounding it. The entry stages of ‘The Cracks’ has darker effects running through them, which is complimented by a solid and sharp drum line that divides the sound. It creates patterns of rhythm which take the track through multiple tempo changes, where the sound is elevated and dropped in quick succession. Female vocals again feature, sounding particularly familiar, but hard to place. 'The Cracks' relies more heavily on repetitive sections to take it from start to finish and this provides the only negative angle.

My personal favourite out of the three would be ‘The City Dub’ and it encapsulates what I consider The Freestylers to be. With this release, I suggest high expectations for their as yet unreleased 5th studio album arriving this year. For those who favour this genre, I might also remind you that The Freestylers will be completing a small tour and they should provide a good night of entertainment if their live performance achieves the same standard as this EP.