From the first solid drums kicking and sputtering bass thumping on "Money in the Bag" to the cackling guitar of the "Hello Big Mama" version of the same song as the album closer, Boogie Angst is THAT record that those who live for jazzy, funky breaks have been praying for. And when I say this, I mean every frickin' track is unique and kick-ass as opposed to there being "enough" solid cuts that make it worth the price of the record. And I don't give a f%$k what the naysayers will take from this, but if this album is not a fluke, Kraak & Smaak could be the next electronic faces of this generation, like what Crystal Method or Bjork was to ears that were not familiar with their respective genres, and thus could do what many had hoped more recently RJD2 or DJ Shadow might do in the realm of mainstreaming break-y electronica.
As to get a vague idea, without hearing them, what the trio from Holland may be comparable to, there's some Koop, Quantic, St. Germain, and the Verve Remixes vibes throughout the album. Songs to seek out as a gauge to the Kraak & Smaak sound would be "One of the These Days," "Keep Me Home," or "Say Yeah." And although the group fuses many musical flavors for their particular sound- such as Afrocuban, soul, electronica, and so on- they're really not stylistically doing anything that hasn't been done before (well, maybe with the exception of the chicken clucking to the beat on "Keep on Searching") by the aforementioned groups and others. I've watched folks first take notice to this record being played and none of them ever says when their eyes light up, "Man! I never heard anything like this before!" What they say is, "Man! I didn't think I was into dance music but I'm into this!" This is because what Kraak & Smaak's strengths are beyond the obvious ability to construct a track- in that they have discerning ears of what makes a great song or making a whole work out of the best parts of a total musical world.
All to say, some records just jam and others just sing. The material on Boogie Angst kicks you with the jams against the wall while the melodies serenade your spinnin' head on the way down to the ground.
