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We're familiar with Detroit techno, acid techno, minimal techno but… post-modern techno? This may be an entirely new genre. And who should be championing it but Guy Noir - a pair of bright spark boys whose spiritual home is the heartland of irony: east London. Gower Ramsey and George Tsioutsias borrowed their production moniker from Guy Noir, a detective character on satirical American radio show The Prairie Home Companion whose role sends up the conventions of noir fiction.

What does it mean, then, when two clever producers start making music which self-consciously references parody? Are they being smart or just smart-arse? The Flex EP is a three-track musical mystery, taking listeners on a tongue-in-cheek tour of familiar techno sounds. The title track hints they may have crossed the boundary into indulgence. It hovers on the knife-edge between being a good record and being a competent mimic of a good record. The case for the defense lies in its accomplished gritty/scuzzy warehouse vibe.

It is electro-laced techno that fizzes agreeably, like Pop Rocks in soda. However, the cheesy-come-knowing video with its endless close-ups of the buffed, perfected, oiled-up muscles of a Speedo sporting male bodybuilder almost defies you to take it seriously.

B uddy Poeto eschews electro for a tetchy, minimal vibe. It will sound right at home in sets at regular Gower & George haunts like Fabric and Shoreditch's uber-trendy T Bar. What it won't do is stick in your head after the last note has died out. Though it's worth noting Guy Noir (the character) is typically sent on rubbish adventures - so perhaps this is just their way of parodying that parody of a… well, you get the idea. Final cut Now You're Gone is the most heartfelt of the bunch. The crunchy, slightly retro sound is given additional body by a distorted male vocal - evoking a warmer, classic electro-tech feel. Which tends to reinforce the suspicion that Guy Noir is perhaps unnecessary window-dressing for the gifts of its two proponents.

They're a pair of indubitably talented musicians and the endless referential layers of the Flex EP add up to less than the sum of its parts. They are smart enough to avoid too-cleverness but a dash more soul would go a long way here.