IF YOU believe the publicity, the tone and title of Basement Jaxx’s fifth album reflect it being forged by hearts of darkness. They’re having a laugh.

Scars is about as dark as Times Square during a torch convention, and further proof that while south London duo Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe are perfectly capable of coming up with radio-friendly singles, making an album which stays the course is beyond them.

Here, they’ve hitched their musical wagon to everybody from The Specials (Saga) to Lou Bega (She’s No Good) without producing anything to match the immediacy of Red Alert or Romeo.

Raindrops and Feelings Gone are lively enough stabs at arms-up summer disco, but while the Jaxx deserve credit for prevailing where many of their peers have called it a day, they sound like they’ve realised that, compared with Underworld or Groove Armada, they’re destined to be a footnote.