Dan Peppe and Steve White's debut LP is a reflection of their collective eclectic musical histories.
A vast range of influences has gone into the making of their music - hip-hop, house, rock, ragga, indie and electro of course.
That can be good, as long as everything is coherent and rolling in the same direction.
Coming from both dance and indie/rock backgrounds, they were first linked together through the "big beat" scene in bands like Agent Provocateur and Monkey Mafia.
Together as Themroc, they draw heavily upon electro, but their music certainly doesn't fit into the current nu-electro equation.
It comes as no surprise then that their good ship might encounter some choppy water along the way.
The album leaps from style to style, loosely bound together by the thinnest electronic thread, but as a package, it appears hastily thrown together and not quite finished.
The music is just simply unremarkable at times. It's perfectly OK, but it just doesn't have that extra edge.
'All Looks The Same' is a soulful vocal track that adds a bit of jazz to the list of influences. A transparent female vocal wafts over sombre synths on 'Into The Light' without making any significant impact.
'State Of Flux' is an apt title for rocky vocal track with gothic overtones that leave it hanging in genre limbo, and that's exactly what happens to a few of the tracks.
Occasionally, it is just sheer confusion that prevails. 'Yellow Dog' has a bluesy feel with strange overtones of rock circa the 70's prog era, thrown together with bleeps and blurbs of synth. It's all a bit too much.
Things look promising when 'Sunken City' sails off on a wave of blissed out electronica, but then it crashes on a rock of sci-fi blips that appear from no where, inexplicably gashing a hole in an otherwise fine track.
The singles, however, promise a lot. The lovely low-slung house beats of 'Gold Is Your Metal' have a slinky swing that expand the possibilities of lounge disco and everything comes together perfectly in the jacking electro groove of 'Bloodline'. Raunchy house beats rub up against a luscious retro synth line, creating a dancefloor rocker that really stands out in a crowd.
'Never Be Over' is a cheeky, quirky little number, all stripped down and featuring a robot-like vocal. It is zesty with an air of faux-cool which makes it loads of fun.
On tracks like these, Themroc prove that they are more than capable of making great music without having to follow the usual rules.
It's perhaps best to consider this album as an exploration. There's a fine line between getting it right and falling apart. Occasionally Themroc turn in the right direction. Hopefully next time they'll stay on course.
