The Bake Sale

Whenever hip-hop decides to have a throwback moment – and it's had plenty – there's always the fear 21st century nostalgia might be mistaken for the kind of novelty you file under the section marked 'MC Hammer'. Thankfully, The Cool Kids make a nice enough attempt to honour the good old days without disrespecting their forefathers too much, even if The Bake Sale EP doesn't paint the full picture of their agenda.

Once the boom-tick-clapping riot of What Up Man kicks off the proceedings, there's a few golden era numbers which embody the rhyming couplets and weighty beats only the 1980s could do so well. Jingling, for instance, makes a subtle reference to a younger LL Cool J, while the body-slamming What It Is and the boisterous 88 could have easily been lost b-sides from Eric B and Rakim. But 23-year-old producer, Chuck English, and 20-year-old Mikey Rocks can only keep up the charade for so long, and it's soon clear that they've snuck in bits from their youth. Give One Two a couple of spins and it might start sounding like snap music and Bassment Party somehow manages to dip into Pharrell territory.

Still, the self-proclaimed ''black version of the Beastie Boys'' can whip up a fresh soundtrack to one heck of a party where quoting their rap songs will probably get you on the guestlist. But where the Beasties have proved their longevity, The Cool Kids have quite a way to go before they've avoided crossing over into one-hit wonderland.