- Tuff City Kids, the duo of Running Back co-founder Gerd Janson and fellow German DJ/producer Phillip Lauer, has an obvious affinity for peak-hour music. Even the tracks not explicitly gunning for such time slots are powered by the same underlying energy and charisma of those that are. Janson and Lauer keep their drums big and loud, their synths punchy and melodic, and their basslines limber and strong. It's an approach to house music that seeps into every corner of Kirk Juemmeth, Tuff City Kids' new four-tracker with Running Back affiliate Victor Shan.
The "Chopper Rescue" version of "Lambsgame" is the flashiest of the bunch. It drops a radiant, filter-swept synth pattern over the top of loping house beats and light harmonic touches. The original "Lambsgame" maintains an alluring tension that never swells or breaks, and acts almost like a comedown from the other version's impressive dance floor exuberance. Animated as they are, "Highlights" and "Cole Rabies" are both jacking floor-burners of another kind. Kirk Juemmeth again shows how versatile Tuff City Kids can be even as they fixate on the most conspicuous corners of dance music.
TracklistA1 Lambsgame
A2 Lambsgame (Chopper Rescue Version)
B1 Highlights
B2 Cole Rabies Beats