Those who castigate the Chemical Brothers for selling out or crossing over, or some such nonsense, look to Monkey Mafia to represent the undiluted face of DJ culture/club music in the late '90s. Regardless of when you stand on the relative authenticity of its peers, Monkey Mafia, the brainchild of turntable whiz Jon Carter, offers a solid blend of danceable beats, shifting (but never spacey) textures and effective samples. There's a definite reggae undertone to SHOOT THE BOSS, represented in the occasional vocals, the dub-like feel of some of the tracks and the syncopated percussion, but Monkey Mafia sounds very British, a quality that will make them lots of friends on both sides of the Atlantic. Too single-minded to cross over, too naturally hooky to come off aloof, Monkey Mafia occupies an agreeable middle ground between the underworld and the electronica mainstream.|
Rovi