February 25, 2000
On The Ropes
Mint Royale owe more to [I]Saturday Night Fever[/I] and [B]Deee-Lite[/B] than [B]The Chemical Brothers[/B] and sound frankly ridiculous when listened to sober.
5 / 10
Sometimes you have to accept things for no more than they are. Look no deeper, avoid searching for a grand plan and appreciate the moment. That's the only way to approach Mint Royale, a duo who have no desire to change lives, owe more to Saturday Night Fever and Deee-Lite than The Chemical Brothers and sound frankly ridiculous when listened to sober. They know the value of having a laugh, immaculate timing and - as their career of late has proved - appreciating who, not what, they know.
Luckily for them, Neil Claxton and Chris Baker recently hooked up with Terrorvision to remix 'Tequila', persuaded former Kenickie frontwoman Lauren Laverne to sing on the best track here ('Don't Falter') and had another chosen as the theme to Channel 4 schmooze-fest, The Priory. All these happy facts mean that more people are interested in the re-release of this debut album than it justly deserves, thereby completely missing its point. 'On The Ropes' is irreverent, cheesy party fodder. It does its frivolous job perfectly, and that's it.
So just lighten up, dance and enjoy Mint Royale. Because, like all truly entertaining pop music, you'll have forgotten they exist in a month's time.
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