Mateo & Matos - Enter Our World (CD)

All Music Guide

It is often the case in house music that savvy European producers are mistaken for inner-city American artists due to their deep and funky take on New York or Chicago's indigenous house sound. John Mateo and Eddie Matos are in fact New Yorkers, although their longstanding affiliation with Scotland's Glasgow Underground has led many to believe they speak in a brogue between recording their disco lamp house party dubs. The duo's fourth studio album is basically the same as the previous three: chunky house instrumentals that are not meant to wow as much as they are meant to maintain the dancefloor funk. The beats are augmented with fast walking basslines and clipped wah-wah guitar samples that wear their disco roots on their sleeves. In fact, the standout track, "Feelin Sexy," cuts up a typical sounding disco groove with just enough digital garnishment to separate it from records that are easily 20 years older. At this rate, Mateo Matos will probably never reach the superstar status of c...ontemporaries like Little Louie Vega, despite the fact that the album's one vocal selection, "Give Me a Reason," has all the makings of a memorable club anthem. But as long as thinking house DJs like Mark Farina and Joe Claussell need some sturdy beats to bridge the more spectacular cuts in their crates, then Mateo Matos will remain the New Yorkers to turn to. - Joshua Glazer, All Music Guide Read more Less