Let us begin by defining our assumptions. House music is, essentially, club/ rave music. The best house artists can work a crowd of seething, sweaty e-hopped teens like masters, driving tempo in different directions, building climaxes and valleys, manipulating the party with the beat. As such, house lacks the song- break- song- break definition that most rock/ pop listeners are accustomed to-- many house discs are mixed to be one continuous stream of music from start to finish, with vaguely defined "songs." This is, as they say, the nature of the beast.

About a year and a half ago, I saw these boys live at an outdoor party and they tore it up with authori-tay. Mixing upbeat, light brass sounds, syncopated drum textures, funk flava, old- skool standards like hand- claps and their trademark almost- spoken vocals, I am unashamed to admit that I lost my feet for some time and had to bring my head down at the end of their set like a balloon on a string. That's why when Ryan, the God of my universe and editor of Pitchfork, made the offering of this disc, I killed 14 carpenter ants and stuffed them in my nostrils to prove my devotion. My expectations were high, little ones, and I wanted the evasive energy that they had so effortlessly channeled at that event. I wanted the groove, the jam, the breaks-- hell, I wanted it all!

Did I get it? Well, yes... almost. Reality is, no house compact disc, no matter how cool the cover is or how trendy the DJs are, is going to compare to live music. Bryant Street is solid groove from start to finish. Moonbeam and Sunshine Jones develope some juicy percussive textures in tracks like "Samba Dub" and "No Puedo Estar Despierto," before throwin' down full- blown raps like "Holler!" To my highly trained and distinguishing ear, the Jones' are working purcussion early in the disc, then going more cerebral the deeper in you get, twisting loops every which way, from distortion to muted, then fuzzy. Tribal instruments and chants are interspersed throughout, something that's starting to get a little stale, but they work it just fine. The lyrics are predictably excellent, the rant "Holler!" standing out at the end of the disc, something to look forward to as you wind down in your private basement rave.

That's what it boils down to really, that Dubtribe Sound System has laid down some excellent work here. But the uninitiated will surely be put off by the endless loops that string together the rollercoaster of climaxes and chillout moments. Bryant Street doesn't really challenge the house status quo, but is strong, entertaining, and infectious for the dance- ready among us. My advice-- give it a try ,then go see them at a venue near you.

-James P. Wisdom