Devon, England's deep house collective The Rurals started the Peng record label in 1999 to "produce their own brand of jazzy, funky deep house". Five years and numerous singles later, The Rurals stand firmly on the map of house music producers in the same vein as JT Donaldson, Fred Everything and the Naked Music crew. Their blend of soulful vocals and music that spans the spectrum from chunky to lush ranks as a staple in the diet of many house DJs. DJ/producer Andy Compton heads up the group alongside wife, Marie "Tweek" and DJs Matt C and Dean Westcott. "Messages" is their seventh full-length album and represents a slight turn downtempo from some of their dancefloor heavy releases.
On the whole, this collection of songs works perfectly in a lounge or early evening set. Most of the tunes play at house music tempo (120-123 B.P.M.) and create the thick creamy sonic effect popularized by labels like Naked Music. That clear fit into what I call the "lush-house" genre is the beauty of the CD-what it does, it does very well. The title track sums up the mood of the CD perfectly with a steady 4/4 rhythm under ethereal vocals conjuring up visions of Blue Six's classic "Music and Wine".
The Rurals manage to break away a bit from the "lush-house" sound delving into some jazz-funk business on "Charlie Plays", and rockin' an RnB/hip-hop groove on "Serious". Both songs stand out as they demonstrate some creative reach on the part of the musicians. Among the house tunes, "Rebel" stands out going deeper than the title track while still keeping the mood of the CD. "Blame" garners some points as well with its simple structure, swirling vocals, and light airy work on keys, definitely a throwback to days of house gone by, circa '95-'97.
On the whole, "Messages" registers about a 5 on my Richter scale; it's good, but not terribly interesting. While it is very pretty music, it seems to lack a certain depth. I have to admit that I am a bit bored by this over-produced packaged sound. Naked Music and others, including The Rurals have created and perfected this sound and have done it well. I suspect somewhere along the way however, they overdid it.
