After living and breathing these records for the past three hours, a pattern's emerged. The a-side of an Assault record (if you haven't figured it out yet, Craig Diamonds is an alias) usually starts out jiggy-as-hell. For example, the first track on this record, "Make That Booty Clap(1)", is all silly hi-nrg electro fit for a peak hour set in Ibiza. But after that, it's all uphill, in a good way, and by the time you've made it to the flip side, the shit is properly funky. On the b-side, Assault is definitely on a mid-eighties sample bonanza. There's a most excellent remix of LL Cool J's "Goin' Back To Cali(2)," definitely on the ghetto-electro tip, and check "Drop Dem Panties(3)!" He's got a piece of Ad Rock's "DROP!" from "The New Style." I think that might be the best Beastie sample I've heard. And yes, there's Morris Day and the Time's "Jungle Love," resurrected and remixed at 140 bpm. The last song on the b-side is dope as hell too, a midtempo, dare I say it- drum-n-bass-ish track, with a live bass line that runs throughout. "Don't Try to Play(4)" may be one of those rare, successful adventures where the producer (Assault, in this case), has pulled all his tricks out of the hat and made something completely out of the ordinary. Don't sleep. Seriously. Six tracks.

reviewed by Carlisle McQueen