Well, here it is ladies and gentleman: the debut Mount Kimbie LP. Released on Scuba's increasingly influential Hotflush imprint, Crooks & Lovers is an aural delight from start to finish. From the trademark vocal snatches and playful bleeps of "Would Know" to the twangy guitar line and wonderfully chopped vocal melody on "Before I Move Off", this is as fine an exploration of the post-dubstep world as you're ever likely to hear. The duo create a sonic landscape in which every sound matters, with sparse instrumentation, warm pads and typically delicate vocal refrains produced with intricate poise. There are highlights aplenty, but the melodic flourish of "Carbonated", which is just so damn warm and fuzzy it's ridiculous, stands as one of the finer moments - it's like dubstep meets R&B meets the XX. This is quite patently music that could only have been made in the here and now, which in itself is an achievement not to be understated. Indeed, Mount Kimbie have set a high watermark for electronic music in 2010 - who will be able to keep up?

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