Work 1989-2002

The brothers Hartnoll always had more to them than most of their drug-addled, often novelty contemporaries. With a swaggering sense of melody and their trademark clockwork rhythms, they made emotive instrumental dance music that feels as fresh today as it ever did. Admittedly, looking back on this best-of retrospective, some of the breakbeats do sound a bit clunky, yet the haunting, classical lilt woven through gems like "Nothing Left" and the heart-stopping "Belfast" are testament to their genius. The only disappointment here (aside from 2 Unlimited sound-a-like, "Choice") is the pointless vocal remix of "Kinetic", now renamed "Frenetic". One word: why? --Paul Tierney