Drum Chums is back with the Snack Attack! For the uninitiated, our Bobby is a man of true culture. Look for a sun kissed café on Stockport's cobbles and you might just find him, sat back in a string vest and shades, coiffing a natural wine and cracking the wisest. Or else deep in the pound bins and car boots of the North West, calmly cutting through the AOR ocean to find the next Yacht Rock gem. And when Snacks snatches the scalpel, he's a wizard, a true star. So dig into this debut delight to find anthemic soft-rock, swooning Balearic, fizzy cosmic and the greatest left-field club track we've ever heard.

Bobby opens his account with the yearning Yacht boogie of 'Picking Up', a timeless tune which sounds a little like a Doobie Brother doing devotionals over a fist pumping rhythm-box. Tempo Moderato, trilling sequences, serious synth bass and searing guitar solos are gonna get the hands in the air, believe me. Snacks slows the pace a touch for the shoulder-rolling sway of 'Wipe Y'Hands (XXXtra Chant Version)', a sultry slice of Balearic disco replete with orchestral flourish, tumbling percussion and a spine-tingling serenade perfect for fans of Sarcastic Disco.

Flip the pancake and prepare for genius as Bobby Snacks manipulates a sample like a deep house Dilla, arranging swelling strings, hand percussion and Linn drums into a living, breathing, sacred rhythm, before taking the whole club west into ecstatic uncharted territories. 'Slippy Energy' is the power source of the future. Last, but by no means least, Snacks puffs on the grape vape gets narcotic, slowing sugary synth-disco into a suitably sleazy cruise through the cosmos called 'Shaky Boys'.

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Riding high on the inexplicable tech-house adoption of their last release, Talking Drums return with hit number six. This desert island disc finds the family bagging a last minute flight to sunnier climes, where the cocktails are strong and the seas are calm.

On “Air Ecosse”, the crew provide an engine overhaul to a middling slice of Scotch boogie, squeezing maximum thrust out of the new beat-y intro before a bubbling bassline and chiming chords provide some serious uplift. The captain takes the comms for a late deadpan vocal, hinting at a little Pet Shop Boys karaoke prior to touchdown in paradise.

The percussion pals kick off the Birkies on the B-side, boarding the bateau with a pair of proper harbour heaters. “Too Yacht To Handle” bubbles along like Mick’n’Keef in disco mode, oozing grooves under a swooning vocal a lá Nicolette Larson. A hazy arrangement lets the music play, indulging the instrumental breaks, soaring synths and subtle delays in true 12” Extended Mix styleé, perfect for peaktime at poolside or la playa. Dropping the tempo to a sunset strut, “AORwaves” provides the perfect cool-down, as TD cut back the fat on a forgotten soft-rocker to create a cosmic yacht bomb. Low slung, sleazy and spaced out, this is gonna rock a bar set and beyond.

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Summertime sounds abound on the sixth Drum Chums disc, which comes lovingly dubbed and diced by our friendly Fruit Merchant Hidden Spheres. Known globally for his free-flowing DJ sets, halcyon house hits and mastery of melody, Tom’s been at the top of his game for time now - just check those releases on Rhythm Section and Scissor & Thread - and it’s a pleasure to carry his drum sticks for this one. Cracking open his vault of top secret DJ tweaks, Spheres explores sweltering proto-house, tropical disco lilt and deepest waters across three floor-ready cuts.

The Fruit Merchant plucks something ripe from the Kalimba Tree on the A1, starting the party properly with joyous Afro-house jam “Stolen”. Carnival-friendly drums and a Boyd Jarvis bassline wind up your waist while the call-and-response vocals and exuberant brass send hands and heads skywards before the track transitions into an utterly ecstatic sax-led breakdown. This is magic.

For the B-side, Hidden Spheres treats us to a couple of deep digs from his time in Australia, both originating in the Aboriginal community. Emerging from the astral vibrations of a didgeri-drone, “You Better Dance” casually locks into an irresistible 105bpm groove, strolling through the echo-laced dubspace as its poetic vocal speaks to your soul. Balearic-paced and cosmic-minded, this one plays perfectly next to those I-Level 12”s. For finale “Together”, Spheres shifts back into proto-house mode, locking a hypnotic piano riff into some militant snare rolls to lay the foundation for the impassioned vocal. Delivering the occasional diversion into more mournful territories, Spheres reminds us why deep house deity DJ Sprinkles always takes his calls.

At Tom's request all profits from this release will go to Pay The Rent, a grassroots charity in Victoria, Australia working to honour the Sovereignty of Aboriginal people.
paytherent.net.au

Your favourite percussion pals take aim at the peak time on Volume 5, offering some different disco with a Balearic bent. Though the 45RPM button on the TDHQ turntable is finally fixed, these edit idiots managed to spill a spritz on the pitch control, so prepare to read this at -6%.

A-side “Slow Motion” sees the crew swing through some Canadian crates, transforming a high energy froth into sweet mid tempo syrup. Hydraulic sequences chug away to a cybernetic 4/4, lasers dance around the vocoder and a spacer woman sends us into ecstasy with an arms aloft chorus. The heads were spinning when this one teased in their radio mix, so don’t miss it on wax.

There’s a double feature on the flip, where TD tackle an overlooked slice of German glam, taming the tempo and turning out a totally cokey bit of disco rock. Repping expert bass grooves, euro boogie breakdowns, unexpected talk box, headband guitar riffs and a killer drum solo, this gives you that tops off at a family function feeling. The vocal version keeps it authentically off kilter, while the dub should appease peeps who think that Barrabas sounds like a deranged Rod Stewart.

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