- The first time I saw His Merry Men, I was instantly hooked. Each of the 10 members (yeah, really) had chops I was envious of, the songs were composed with the expertise of jazz nerds and their lead singer had one of those voices that turns you on and makes you say ‘holy s***.’ Ruthless is HMM packaging their gigantic sound into 17 minutes of relentless groove and virtuosic capabilities that will take you by storm and get your hips moving whether you like it or not.

Ruth kicks things off with an interweaving horn line that is both technically impressive and head bobbing-ly cool and gives you an idea of everything these guys are about. Sadly though, the lick is over far too soon and we dive into an equally funky drum groove and lead singer Megan Crocombe gets to show off her talents. The whole thing is reminiscent of when The Bamboos write songs they get people to feature on, but instead the vocalist is a central part of the band and everything just glues together better. The majority of the time, HMM keep their pop sensibilities in their songs but one of the coolest things about this band is their refusal to stick to any sort of formula. The guitar lick on Romancing The Ruse in no way belongs there but it works in that same way that Laneous And The Family Yah can do whatever the hell they want and fans will vigorously eat it up.

The Tower of Power inspired Back To Me is played at over 9000bpm but somehow it's got enough groove to force you out of your seat and keep your jaw on the floor. The horn section gets a serious workout and it’s a beautiful accompaniment to those sexy smooth vocal lines. Unlike those funk bands of old however, HMM don’t ever stick to a groove for too long and have more in common with the nu-soul stylings of Hiatus Kaiyote and Astrid And The Asteroids (they do share members). Maybe one day they’ll throw in a few more numbers that you can include on the soundtrack to your next lovemaking session. Or at least put on at a party that doesn’t include other musicians.

- Krishan Meepe.