CD REVIEWS
Aug 1, 2005 12:00 PM
THE BLACK EYED PEAS
Monkey Business (A&M)
On fourth full-length, BEP goes pop and back
After the colossal success of their last album, Elephunk, Will.I.Am, Taboo, Apl.de.Ap and Fergie are back with Monkey Business. In less than two years, the Peas have risen from underground hip-hop fusionists to having now sold 7.5 million records and won a Grammy Award. Monkey Business offers a balanced attack of soulful vocals; abstract, futuristic production (with guest beats by Timbaland); party rhymes; and a sometimes-awkward combination of pop-meets — hip-hop.
Aided by an eclectic cast of special guests (Justin Timberlake, Sting, John Legend, Cee-Lo, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Dante Santiago and James Brown), Monkey Business presents a taste of Reebok-sporting rap (“Like That”), horn-driven funk (“They Don't Want Music”), dance-party pop (“Pump It”) and a mélange of chart-assured anthems. Although much of Will.I.Am's beat work is as strong and abstract as ever — including bright spots such as Q-Tip on “Like That” and Brown on “They Don't Want Music” — the album fails to deliver the Peas' most poignant effort. Still, it's a raucous, summertime party album for those afternoon barbecues. And though it's not for the hip-hop purists, Monkey Business still grows on you with each play.
— Chris Clark
ALARM WILL SOUND
Acoustica (Cantaloupe)
Aphex Twin reimagined
Aphex Twin's catalog comprises some of the most bizarre and otherworldly sounds in all of electronic music, and that's exactly what makes Acoustica such a triumph for Alarm Will Sound — a full chamber orchestra featuring voice, brass, strings, woodwinds and percussion. With the help of 10 arrangers, AWS adapted 13 classic Aphex tracks for live-acoustic play. Employing everything from hardware-store ephemera to musical inventions, each track is a surprisingly faithful rendition (especially “Fingerbib” and “4”). And it's a great way to get modern kicks with a classical vibe.
— Erin Hutton
BENJAMIN DIAMOND
Out of Myself (!K7)
Pop-inflected electronic rock
“Music Sounds Better With You” is truly unforgettable, thanks in part to its omnipresence in clubs around the world ever since its release. Vocalist Benjamin Diamond has since lent his talents to a number of different projects, and with Out of Myself, he continues to experiment. Diamond covers vibrant, dance-inflected rock in “Mr. Fate” and the upbeat “I Wish,” but his efforts sometimes fall flat. Lovely melodies and chord progressions are tucked amid his more laid-back tunes, making this a pleasant, if somewhat inconsistent, album that's worth a listen but hardly a classic.
— Christine Hsieh
CAPONE
Pain, Time & Glory (Fastlife)
Who's got Capone's back?
It's been nearly a decade since Capone first hit the scene alongside Noreaga, and many heads regard C-n-N's The War Report as a hip-hop classic. But he has appeared sporadically since the underrated follow-up, The Reunion. On his solo LP, Capone's raspy flow and vivid verses are still on-point, and he drops explosive thug anthems (“Oh No”) and sensitive ballads (“All 4 U”). Unfortunately, weak, synth-heavy beats hamper much of the album, detracting from his charismatic rhymes. With better producers (Alchemist? L.E.S.?) behind him, Capone can still make the record his fans have waited for.
— Brolin Winning
COOL CALM PETE
Lost (Embedded)
Calculated and complicated
Handling verses and half of the beat duties, Queens-based Cool Calm Pete has little difficulty excelling in either area. A beachside steel-drum loop makes it into the slovenly, swirling backdrop of “2 a.m.” while guest Ed Live delivers even sleepier blends on “Cloudy” and “Wishes and Luck.” It would be easy to brand Pete a flagrantly stoned underachiever, as every beat trudges along with the speed of an incompetent mailman. Such an act would be presumptuous, though, as Pete's verses on Lost are slick and complicated in their varied subject matter and calculated, incognito arrogance.
— Dominic Umile
THE FREE DESIGN
The Now Sound Redesigned (Light in the Attic)
Soft rock gets cock-blocked
Late-'60s family band the Free Design made The Carpenters sound like Fugazi. They softly sang airtight harmonies about kites, bubbles and friendly men. For small children, they made music pristinely produced by Enoch Light, a mixer more disciplined than Brian Wilson and Phil Spector. Jump to 2005. Light in the Attic selects a random roster to remix Free Design songs. Suddenly, you have Danger Mouse & Murs rapping about Marcus Dwayne Dixon's 10-year sentence for statutory rape. Huh?! What does political hip-hop have to do with soft rock? Nothing, yo.
— Eric Shea
GENERAL ELEKTRIKS
Cliquety Kliqk (Quannum)
Cutups from French keyboard guru
Herve Salters has played keyboards with everyone from Blackalicious to Femi Kuti, but it is his debut that will make his name one to remember. A schizophrenic journey of willowy pop songs, frazzled dub and textural hip-hop, Cliquety Kliqk's best moments come when everything seems to fall apart: the croaking Rhodes of “Techno Kid,” the Humpty Dumpty Hammond organ and lion growls of “Central Park,” the wheezing Clavinet and film-noirish whispers of “Tu M'Intrigues.” Like sweet 'n' sour hip-hop rolled up in crepes and a Gauloise cigarette, Cliquety Kliqk smokes.
— Ken Micallef
MISSY ELLIOTT
The Cookbook (Goldmind/Atlantic)
With new sounds, addictive Miss E deconstructs herself
At the New York listening session to hear rough mixes of Missy Elliott's latest album, Elliott spoke over an ISDN line from Miami, saying, “I hope ya'll ready for something a little bit different.” What's different about The Cookbook are the extremes Miss E achieves on her everything-but-the-kitchen-sink ride. Sure, Timbaland still ratchets up the beats and injects radical alien sounds, but it's Elliott's stylistic range that will have you double-checking your iPod.
Opener “Joy” features Elliott whisper-singing “Jooooooooy” over a descending line of wobbly bass bubbles. An African soukous punctures “Partytime,” a minimalist blowout with surreal backward loops. Industrial noise, Pharrell Williams and what sounds like a collapsing skyscraper fill “On and On” — a scalding, meter-in-the-red track that is pure sound sans melody. “We Run This” samples a full marching band. Just when it seems that The Cookbook is all blunt sex and audio ferocity, Elliott cozies up to some seriously smooth R&B with “The Right One for You,” “Time and Time Again” and “Tearyeyed,” songs so sappy and slick, you'll think Miss E had been studying with the late Luther Vandross.
— Ken Micallef
GE-OLOGY
Ge-Ology Plays Ge-Ology (Female Fun)
Nonstop and nod-worthy
Known for whipping up Tupac Shakur's first beat as well as the tracks he's lined up for Sadat X, De La Soul and Mos Def, to name a few, Ge-Ology pulls this record together like a mostly beats mixtape. All of the 30 nuggets (three minutes each, tops) flow alongside each other like the lazy corners of Tribe's Low End Theory: dizzy '90s hip-hop with bass-heavy drum breaks; occasional funk guitar loops; and significant, though rare, MC spots. Ge-Ology's beats call on an older, soulful beat-making sensibility, and he's got the résumé to back it up.
— Dominic Umile
THE HERBALISER
Take London (Zen/Ninja Tune)
Big-beat British gangster bounce
Drop the needle on the first cut, and you're dropped into a cinematic world of British hit men and Gitanes-smoking detectives. UK production duo Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba deftly weave their fifth record with thick kicks, chocolate bass lines, velvet strings and a horn section on Quaaludes. It's a soundtrack for shady deals done in dark London pubs — more Get Carter than Austin Powers. “Gadget Funk” imagines a '70s cop show while “Close Your Eyes” offers a fat water bed of beats for Jean Grae's head-twisting flow. Now, go get a curry and some lager. And watch your back.
— Dan Frio
THE JUAN MACLEAN
Less Than Human (DFA/Astralwerks)
Kicking it old-school-synth style
Juan Maclean's former role as a ragtag electro punk in Long Island's Six Finger Satellite obviously prepared him for the glorious retro fest of Less Than Human. Like some lost mixtape compiled by a broken-down but still savvy sonic hipster, the album morphs and mashes styles together for a kind of seamless history lesson of synths. Moogs, 808s and ARPs are all referenced in Maclean's bittersweet songs, from the Kraftwerk-inspired “AD2003” and the robotic '80s funk of “Shining Skinned Friend” to the Talking Heads' inanity of “Tito's Way.” Party hard, then cry.
— Ken Micallef
MATHEMATICS
The Problem (Nature Sounds)
Wu-Tang producer not problematic
Down with the Wu since he used to DJ for GZA in the Cold Chillin' days, Mathematics is basically the 10th member of the Shaolin supercrew. He's produced many Clan-related projects, notably Ghost's Supreme Clientele. On his second solo release, the producer hooks up with the WTC — including Ol' Dirty — to craft a dope compilation-style album. Whether rocking throwback soul (“Strawberries & Cream”), stuttering breakbeats (“Real Nillaz”) or minimalist bass (“Break That”), his hard-knocking drums and grimy samples suit the MCs perfectly; it's some of the best Wu material in years.
— Brolin Winning
NOBODY
And Everything Else… (Plug Research)
The Age of Aquarius is here (again)
Nobody is somebody who is a purveyor of hip-hop — infused West Coast psychedelia. His third record, And Everything Else…, ventures confidently onto his familiar '70s sun-drenched electronic path yet introduces the kind of cosmic b-boy sensibility that was absent on 2003's Pacific Drift. Nobody crafts a beautiful dichotomy of pastoral soundscapes and gritty hip-hop breaks on “The Coast Is Clear (For Fireworks)” and ventures into Postal Service indietronica territory on his cover of the Flaming Lips' “What Is the Light?” It's a perfect soundtrack to a summer's night.
— Aaron Schultz
NOISESHAPER
Rough out There (Sounds From the Roof)
Euro-flavored Jamaican sounds
The third album from this Viennese (by way of Berlin) duo ensconces it further into its dub-reggae roots. Nowhere on Rough out There can you doubt Noiseshaper's authentic take on Jamaican sounds both in tone and in attitude. Featuring the vocals of Juggla backed by Jackie Deane, “Automatic” kicks things off right with blunted bass lines that are slung as low as you can go. The spliffed-out hold on a buoyant rhythm gives way to a melodious undertone on the title track and “Perdido.” But the bounce comes back on the saucy remix of “Kung Fu Fighting.”
— Lily Moayeri
DJ SHADOW
Entroducing — Deluxe Edition (Universal-Island)
Say it isn't so: Has it really been 10 years?
It's hard to know where to begin with Entroducing. Released in 1996 on James Lavelle's powerhouse Mo'Wax label, it's one of the most influential albums for a generation of electronic, cut 'n' paste and abstract hip-hop producers getting their chops. Using hip-hop's skeleton as a frame, Shadow chopped, sliced, diced and manipulated samples on Entroducing to create an ever-shifting, forward-thinking album that defies classification and evokes a half-awakened sense of nostalgia.
While Shadow's brigade of diehards anxiously awaits his next album, Entroducing is reissued as Deluxe Edition from Universal Special Projects. Designed to commemorate the album's 10th anniversary, this set contains a remastered version of the original and a second disc of bonus tracks, alternate versions, remixes (including one from Cut Chemist) and a 12-minute clip of DJ Shadow live in the UK. Although coming off like a bit of a marketing ploy (all bonus material has been readily available to fans for years), Entroducing is an album worth reissuing for a younger generation that hasn't picked up on it. And it still sounds damn nice.
— Aaron Schultz
MARK RAE
Ode to a Dying DJ (Trust the DJ)
A look to the future
Blending dancehall with the more traditional electronic sounds of house and techno, Mark Rae — the man who helped put British hip-hop firmly onto U.S. record-store shelves via his Grand Central Records label and work as Rae & Christian — brings a sharp, futuristic edge to dance music with resonant bass, skittish rhythms and fluid MCing courtesy of Stereotyp, Fingathing, Bugz in the Attic's Seiji and others. Ode to a Dying DJ is an intriguing listen, and the mix compilation is proof that if one breed of DJs is dying out, a new generation will be bringing up the slack in no time.
— Christine Hsieh
MASTERS AT WORK
The Kings of House (Rapster)
The source of all those samples
With dozens of singles and remixes to their credit, Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez and “Little” Louie Vega have been steering the club scene since the early '90s. For this two-disc compilation, however, they looked to their contemporaries for source material, choosing singles that are seminal to house music. More suited to the chillout room, Gonzalez chose slower tracks for disc 1. Case in point, Mr. Fingers' “Can You Feel It” features scattered hi-hats alongside patient beats. Meanwhile, Frankie Knuckles' classic “Your Love” wins over Vega's dancefloor-friendly second disc.
— Genevieve Powers
SILVER CITY
Silver City (2020 Vision)
Ambitious debut falls short
Based out of Leeds, England, these two Argentineans — Fernando Pulichino and Julian Sanza — have been making waves with their live act, 2020Soundsystem. Showing the experience they've gained playing out, their first full-length studio effort tries to bridge the gap between disco and rock but never quite makes the leap. The pair plays all instruments impressively: Check the guitar riff in “Down Till 7” and the slapped-out bass line in “What You Get.” Pulichino even pulls off a notable Shaun Ryder — style vocal in “Say Hi,” but, unfortunately, the rest of the album is stuck awkwardly between two genres.
— Genevieve Powers
VARIABLE UNIT
Mayhemystics Outbreaks (Wide Hive)
Postapocalyptic sounds from the Bay
Including DJs Zeph and Quest, San Francisco's Variable Unit forges a lazy tableau of spaced-out grooves and mesmerizing turntable improvisations. Though an old-fashioned “band,” Variable Unit's instrumentation proves to be as elastic and ethereal as anything the DJs dream up, lending the music a floating feeling that recalls bad dreams and seerlike visions. On one song (“Love, Truth, Peace, Freedom and Justice”), they're channeling Qawwali singers and dread; the next (“Plutonian Plutarchy”), they're dancing down the street with all the joy of Fat Albert at Christmas.
— Ken Micallef
VARIOUS ARTISTS
reBOOT (Om Records)
Great beats for a good cause
Om Records and NextAid offer their own scaled-down version of Live Aid with this collection of previously unreleased singles from some of dance music's major players, all to benefit children in Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS. Om's trademark lounge sound is present (Kaskade's “Samba Love”), but many of the songs on reBOOT indirectly address the cause: Thievery Corporation hits heavy with the ragga ride “Truths and Rights” while Troydon's “Listen Up” layers a sample that sounds like children playing over an echoing male vocal, rattling mids and a steady bass line.
— Genevieve Powers
JAMES ZABIELA
Renaissance Presents Utilities (Thrive)
Man versus machine
Zabiela puts forth the classic man-machine struggle on these two discs: “Computed” was created with the much-hyped Ableton Live software, and “Recorded” was mixed live using three CD decks, samplers and effects units. In a testament to his technical skill, both discs flow from tweaking minimalism (Solid Groove's “This Is Sick”) to eerie melody (Hugg & Pepp's “Pellefant”). Zabiela ultimately proves victorious in this sonic clash, applying his trademark scratching technique to the grinding breakbeat in PMT's “Gyromancer” before finishing with his live edit of Ellen Allien's “Sehnsucht.”
— Genevieve Powers
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