Armed to the teeth with sounds thicker than their name, the Plump DJs have consistently dominated the break-beat music scene since arriving in 2000.From humble roots of screaming 303 synthesizer lines and sampled 1970s drum breaks, the London-based DJs (Lee Rous and Andy Gardner) increasingly have added layers to their sound: guest vocalists, changing tempos and, albeit rarely, a more mellow sound.

“Mad Cow,” their latest single, however, is anything but mellow or complex. And it works.

With their signature punchy drums, squeaks, bleeps and a pitch-bending bassline, the DJs have scaled back from recent material and created something simple yet addictive when played extremely loud.

As can be expected of any Plump track intended for the dancefloor, the traditional build-it-up and break-it-down bridge makes an appearance in the form of a synth that sounds darn close to a cow, lending the track its name.

The only disappointments with the single are the timing and format of its release.

The Plump DJs have been playing “Mad Cow” since the early summer season of 2005, and after originally slating it for a December 2005 release, they scrapped it in favor of including the track on their sophomore studio album due out next summer.

After delaying its release for so long, however, the cow has finally been let out of the barn. But because the DJs have been playing it for so long, fans have already heard the single a number of times and likely aren’t scrambling to order their copy.

Vinyl-enthusiasts Rous and Gardner have always been more than willing to stamp out enough records for everyone. But this time around, they’ve decided to initially forgo wax altogether for an mp3-only release. This could be their way of embracing the oft-described future of music, but it comes off as laziness and frugality.

The decision of how and why to release it aside, “Mad Cow” is a welcome filler for Plump fans sitting in limbo between their last single, released one year ago, and the next Plump DJs studio album to come.