The snappily dressed Herr Popp caused quite a stir with his Swinging Library Sounds EP earlier this year, and here he goes on to prove he's no flash in the chrome plated pan, producing a long player of full-bodied, brassy funk.

In fact Frank Popp seems to be a blend of fact and fiction, with the classy artwork on his website painting him as a sports car driving figure of fun, with more than a whiff of Starsky and Hutch about him, not to mention Kevin Keegan.

It turns out the real Frank Popp started out as a graphic designer, hence the quality drawings, and was drawn to experimenting with sequencers and samplers, bringing in his trademark organ sound later on. He has an unashamedly retro approach that seeks to recreate the sounds of the 1960s and early 1970s, and it succeeds handsomely, incorporating modern recording technology with ease. And although the tracks may borrow ideas from that period and may even use the odd sample, inspection of the writing credits reveals they are in fact Popp's own.

It's often difficult to believe these slabs of funk, soul and R&B aren't true originals, so good are the riffs and the immaculate, widescreen production and orchestration. These players aren't afraid to indulge themselves either, whether it's the extended farfisa organ solo of the wonderful Mullett King, or the cinematic atmospherics laid on for Hurry Up, one of the best tracks here with its slide guitar. Quite apart from all this, they're obviously having huge amounts of fun!

On principal vocal duties is Sam Leigh Brown, not the most powerful of singers but possessing a nice edge reminiscent of Lulu. When she's let loose on the winning lyrics of Hip Teens Don't Wear Blue Jeans the results are spot on, no airs or graces.

The real reason for buying this album however is Popp's arrangements, a joy when turned up loud on the stereo, with punchy brass (Enough), evocative guitar work (Hurry Up) or big, big drums (Goo Goo Muck). It's no surprise to learn that Hip Teens was snapped up by Coca Cola for an advertising campaign, nor that Popp's music has seen use in film, with Swordfish a high profile example.

While some of these tracks may be almost five years old, when they're recreating a style so successfully they are in fact timeless, and so this is a good coming together of Popp's best work so far. More importantly it's great fun when turned up loud, and succeeds handsomely in blowing away the cobwebs.

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