[rating=2.50]
There’s no getting away from it but MSTRKRFT do ever so slightly resemble those French behemoths of dance, Daft Punk and Justice. And not just when it comes an aping of the rock-meets-dance sound but also in the fact that we’re dealing with yet another duo. Yet the key question must be whether
The answer must be in the affirmative, but with certain reservations that linger as uncomfortably as MSTRKRFT’s reliance on reverb. When it works, it positively soars as seen at the start on "It Ain’t Love" and "Bounce". Yet one feels compelled to point out that it’s as much the guest vocalists (Lil’ Mo and N.O.R.E.) that impress as opposed to MSTRKRFT’s main men. But it would be churlish to complain too vociferously as you’ll be won over by this cool, calm mixing of hip-hop and soul.
But "Fist of God" falls far short of a knockout because, when it stumbles, it topples as effortlessly as an out of shape Mike Tyson. And while heavyweight contributors John Legend ("Heartbreaker") and Ghostface Killah ("Word Up") should have lent the record their undoubted stamp of class, it rather feels as if they’ve phoned in their respective efforts. Legend meanders all over the shop, warbling uneasily about rainbows and butterflies whereas you can barely make Ghostface out at times. A missed opportunity, for sure, which you feel wouldn’t have happened if in the hands of their French competitors. Speaking of which, the occasional right hook (if you will) does not make up for Fist of God being unable to go the distance.
