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It took Letherette seven years of making music before their first officially released EP arrived, and nearly a decade before they issued their self-titled debut album. Fortunately, this lengthy gestation period paid off: Letherette is an equally subtle and stylish fusion of house, hip-hop, electro, and more. Though Richard Roberts and Andy Harber released their music on Hotep and Ninja Tune, it could just as easily fit on Warp, a label with whom they have several connections. The duo are in the Artists' Valley collective with Bibio's Stephen Wilkinson, and the suavely chilled-out sounds they forge here suggest a less song-oriented version of his breakthrough, Ambivalence Avenue, so much so that fans of that album should check out Letherette as soon as possible. Similarly, the gently hypnotic vibe throughout these tracks recall Clark -- who remixed a track on their Featurette EP -- while the juxtaposition of technical precision and flashes of soulful warmth should please Flying Lotus aficionados. Elsewhere, Harber and Roberts use Daft Punk's playful pastiches as inspiration, particularly on the irresistible single "D&T." If it sounds like Letherette have quite a bit in common with quite a few artists, they do, but it comes across as more of a kinship than blatant copying. The duo's skill is most apparent in how seamlessly they move from danceable to reflective and back again, sometimes within the same track. At times, Letherette gives the impression of being on the fringes of a big party, moving in and out of the action as the mood strikes -- and it's this mood, sophisticated but not overly mannered, that makes the album so listenable. Roberts and Harber may still be in search of the definitive Letherette sound, but they cover so much ground so well here that it hardly matters. ~ Heather Phares
