I’ve only heard the last track off the Troublemakers’ first album, Doubts and Convictions, but everything I know about the French electronic duo leads me to believe Express Way is simply a bigger, bolder and better version of the first album: jazz-influenced film noir soundscapes, complete with lines written to evoke cinematic scenes—at least, when the vocals aren’t ripped wholesale from movies themselves. “Black City,” the one track I’ve heard off Doubts and Convictions, is anchored by Travis Bickle’s line from Taxi Driver: “Some day, a real rain will come and wash the scum off the streets.”

For Express Way, the Troublemakers went a step further—they actually shot an hour-long film to go along with the album. Apparently there’s a version of the album floating about that includes the movie, but I can tell you the import release I have doesn’t have an extra disc with a film attached. Another thing the album doesn’t have—to its great detriment—is this vocal mix of the leadoff track, available only on a Blue Note promo vinyl. The Express Way instrumental oozes tension, but it really doesn’t hold a candle to the vocal mix. I can’t find any information on the woman or the monologue she recites feverishly; all I can tell you is that parts of the monologue found their way onto Rhythm Unlimited’s “Reflections.” The trance track might have been recorded before “Everyday Is Just An Extension Of Yesterday,” or perhaps not; in any case, the pedigree of the monologue from the woman whose friend is losing his mind will remain a mystery.