Fasten your seatbelts, and that's no exaggeration. Madison, Wisconsin's Phat Phunktion (http://www.phatphunktion.com) is a melting pot of urban beats - funk, hip-hop, ska, jazz, soul - hot enough to make your speakers perspire.
Before I listened to the CD, I expected something along the lines of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but that's not the case at all. You can really hear the punk rock aesthetic in the Peppers and how it contributes to their overall groove. Phat Phunktion, on the other hand, while sharing many of the Peppers' influences, take a more classical approach.
Horns play an important role in this nine-piece group, which must torch stages with firecracker intensity in their live performances. The funk is delivered raw, crackling with sweat-soaked enthusiasm. The first track, "Untitled (Weekend Special)," gives you a taste of what to expect from the rest of the album - party-time '70s flavors in the snappy rhythm section, elevated by blazing horns and some seriously stomping raps. Phat Phunktion are no toned-down corporate baggage; they keep it to the streets, lusty and drunk with a fierce desire to get down all night.
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"Higher" is a Top-40 single in the making, a club-ready starlet that injects massively addicting hooks. Vocals are soulful and silky smooth throughout, especially on "How Do I Get To Your Heart."
On "Never Be the Same," Phat Phunktion switch gears a tad, recalling Steely Dan at their most nocturnal and loose. Phat Phunktion can speed it up or slow it down, but the result is the same: You can't turn the damn stereo off.
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