Italy's Two Messes, AKA Massimiliano Rusconi and Andrea Scalzi, do the honours...

Switzerland's Old School Department has long been a beacon for those in search of more straight-up, dancefloor-oriented house sounds, and this two-track, three-mix release from Italy's Two Messes doesn't disappoint.

The title track is up first, marrying a hip-house/G-house "guess what, laid back, lumberjack" vocal to tuff, pounding tech-house drums, stabby synths that are sure to instigate some shape-throwing out on the floor and, most importantly, a dark, rumbling, almost speed garage-style bassline. It's all a bit big and dumb but it'll slay them in the club where it counts. Diego Serrao then smoothes things out on his remix, opting for lighter drums and a 303-like b-line, before bonus cut The J-5 plays us out with some nods to vintage Chi-town (in the bass and drums), some vaguely proggy synth work and cut-up, chipmunk'd female vocal fragments.

Very solid stuff as ever from this most reliable of labels.

Words: Russell Deeks

Release date: 8 January

Review Score: 8

Tags: Two Messes, Old School Department, house, tech house, tech-house, hip-house, G-house