Hear a Kraftwerk-inspired banger from Boot & Tax's debut LP

Milanese duo Boot & Tax make their full-length debut on Optimo Music this month.

Cristian Croce of The Barking Dogs and Claudio Brioschi, aka Brioski, kept their identities under wraps for their first two EPs as Boot & Tax, released on Optimo Trax last year. Now the analogue synth-wielding Italians have revealed themselves and graduated to the main Optimo label for their self-titled debut album.

“I got to know Cristian from Boot & Tax several years ago when he and his partner in his other musical venture, Barking Dogs, invited me over to play this crazy night they used to run in Milan,” says Optimo’s JD Twitch. “I went over several times after that and stayed in touch with him, so when Cristian started Boot & Tax he sent me their very first tracks and that was in part what inspired me to start Optimo Trax. Subsequently I have got to know Claudio too and I’m very honoured that they trusted me to release their first album.”

Flitting from laidback reggae inversions to spiky post-punk grooves and sprawling cosmic medititations, Boot & Tax features Croce’s vocals and Brioschi on guitar to accompany their arsenal of exotic synth sounds. ‘Dancin’ is one of the best of the bunch, a more traditionalist floor-filler with a Kraftwerkian slant – stream it below.

The album comes on double vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with madcap illustrations by Gianni Ludico. It’s out on May 25 and Boot & Tax will be touring live throughout the summer.