Groove Armada Soundboy Rock CD

Issued during 2007 in the U.K. and the following year in the U.S., SOUNDBOY ROCK finds the British techno duo Groove Armada (Andy Cato and Tom Findlay) doling out more dance-floor-ready tunes. While club-oriented anthems are the order of the day--most notably the funky, M.I.A.-like "Get Down" and "The Things That We Could Share," a propulsive track with Simian Mobile Disco associate Simon Lord--ROCK also presents some more serene moments (see the dreamy "What's Your Version?"), making for a relatively dynamic set.

Groove Armada survived longer than most in the downbeat scene because they were able to move beyond the usual sample-plus-beats formula that so quickly lost its currency by the end of the '90s. Andy Cato and Tom Findlay could create tracks with or without samples, and their production skills put them in close company with the best in the ...