Say, kids, what time is it? Around JURASSIC 5's house, the clocks stopped somewhere around ten years ago, making them nostalgic rap throwbacks whose musical vision stalled before this decade even started. While shamelessly old-school, as fresh as any hip-hop in '98. Not for Jurassic 5 gangsta posturing, glossy G-funk jeep beats or the creepy strings and gothic styling of the ever-expanding Wu family. Rather, they deal with dexterously expressed positivity and spare, funky, impeccably cut beats. And they do it brilliantly.

Listening to the short and sweet 'Jurassic 5', it becomes clear what their West Coast cohort DJ Shadow is talking about when he bemoans the lack of experimentation and true lyrical skills in contemporary hip-hop. This, undoubtedly, is what we've been missing. Jurassic 5's models are pretty transparent, the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and, crucially, De La Soul. Ghetto brutality is conspicuous by its absence: they don't even swear much. DJs Nu-Mark and Cut Chemist seize the chance the show off their cut-and-paste talents on 'Lesson 6', an overt homage to hip-hop collage originator Steinski. Revivalist bands can often be, at best, a guilty pleasure. Jurassic 5 take the pain out of living in the past.