Homewreckers - Not My Business

A Not My Business
B1 Chicago Urban Blues
B2 Not My Business (Dave Aju Remix)

Amid the usual suspects on Circus Company's Snuggle & Slap were a few label newbies. Chief among them were the Ruhr Valley's Homewreckers, a trio that announced themselves with the silky smooth lament "Chicago Urban Blues." The version on S & S was "live at Café Bohemia." The one on their debut single for Circus Company isn't. No matter: The rolling bassline is buffeted by what sounds like a live bass and sweet chords. With merely a sturdy beat and a delicate vocal added in otherwise, there's not much to "Blues" to speak of, but as with Joy Division (which this track's backing recalls in a strange way), minimalism is exactly the reason it has so much power.

A-side "Not My Business" would be similarly powerful, but the monologue detailing music industry shenanigans will take you immediately out of the moment. It's done by the three minute mark, leaving more than six minutes unmolested, but it's hard not to have been caught in the middle of what amounts to a few minutes of inside baseball talk about the biz. Good information, powerful topic, but unlike DJ Sprinkles, it seems too dance floor-driven to make it worthwhile for home listening, and too complex for clubbers to engage with on the dance floor. That's, of course, thinking that they want people to engage with it at all. For dancing purposes, it's highly recommended. Dave Aju seems to understand this, providing a powerful dub techno remix that largely leaves the vocals by the wayside...www.residentadvisor.net