The Knocks - Magic

New York duo Ben ‘B-Roc’ Ruttner and James ‘J-Patt’ Patterson, collectively known as The Knocks, have been feted for a couple of years now as producers of pristine dance pop but have never truly broken through to the mainstream beyond a coterie of blogs and fashionable industry insiders. It is hard to see why they have struggled to gain real success, as their sound is a very commercialised take on RnB pop - very David Guetta and very 2012.

Their latest EP ‘Magic’ sees them exploring more upbeat territory; however, there is something increasingly formulaic about the duo’s vapid approximation of commercial pop. The opening title-track is a bit of a red herring as its slow burning groove featuring vocals from Gary Go is largely incongruous in the context of the rest of the tracks. ‘Brightside’ is more representative as it is full of hands-in-the air synths and diva-ish vocals, but sadly there is very little spark.

The charming disco pastiche of ‘ROYL’ is more appealing, revelling in its retro exuberance. There is a real retro vibe to The Knocks’ sound, a mix of late seventies soul and funk, and Ibiza style dance pop. At times, it does work well such as on the bouncy and effusive ‘Dancing With The DJ’, yet another track to add to pop’s seemingly endless pantheon of songs celebrating the club. There are also times, however, when the ravey synths become rather witless and grating as on the forgettable ‘The Prize’.

‘Magic’ is an intensely frustrating EP as there are some great moments here and examples of real craftsmanship, yet too often it lapses into a generic dance pop rut. Whilst this could be The Knocks’ mainstream breakthrough, and anyone who enjoys euphoric dance pop will find much to enjoy, as a collection of tracks it fails to fully convince.