It’s a good thing the electronica-pop of What Sound re-asserts Lamb’s position just enough outside genre classification to free them from popular whimsy, as this, their third album, was first released two years ago. Louise Rhodes’s throaty crooning no longer threatens the angsty precipice but has settled into an even, comfortable yearning, while Andy Barlow’s soundscapes have also mellowed away from drum & bass experimentation, yet still find more edge than the jazzy tendencies of their second album. In other words, Lamb still thrives on their famous strangeness but now with a friendly sort of transcendence.
Chaampion Soul Excursions
A Brooklyn broken-soul debut hits the ground running-fluttery congos and thumping bass glide beneath graceful and heartfelt vocals. Champion Soul breaks out of the broken beat box with a sound that’s as ethereal as that of any of their UK associates. “Cancion” and “Por Que” features Mariana Vera’s nouveau-bossa blues against a thick bed of organic percussion, as “Down Easy” breaks up the skanky, dubby mood with Kate Dwyer’s sultry soulful crooning. Though occasionally the lyrics and rhythms falter along trite, feel-good vibes, the larger portion of this disc swells with a visceral combination of body-moving broken syncopation and melodic sunny atmospheres.
Bad Company Egyptian
Dancehall continues its Diwali-like trend away from stabbing two-beat jump up towards more fluid syncopation with the shuffling snake-charming sexiness of the Egyptian riddim, while Bad Company keeps it ruffneck via metallic two-beat stabs and wobbly, jittery horns. Accordingly, Egyptian‘s Arabic mood results in girl talk across the board, most visibly “Elephant Man’s Egyptian Dance” and Sean Paul’s “Get With It Girl,” while Bad Company’s minimalism begs a wider scope, going from Beenie Man’s catchy “Row Like A Boat” to Buju’s anti-violence “People & People” to Frisco Kids’s militant alliteration. Both riddims are catchy and compelling, but Bad Company elicits the more inspired wordplay.
Belles In Monica Smoke Filled Rooms
Straight outta Glasgow, hangin’ around with that weird group name and phat accent, MC Kruze throws down like a pro on that rare hip-hop species we once new as the drug cautionary, before battling nicely on the flip’s “That All U Got?” Behind him, DJ Krash Slaughta brings the guitar and keyboard bits as well as some tight scratches. The European hip-hop community forwards into the next.
Heartlesss Crew Why? (Sticky Refix)
Almost ten years on, DJ Fonti and MCs Mighty Moe and Bushkin reach a new and most accessible peak. Lovely strings stab at this “baby-why-ya-leavin’-me-just-cuz-you-caught-me” jam which offers up tight vocal harmonies on the chorus and a bumpy ragga verse. Big and tasty, like…oh, never mind.
Giro Arana …Y Te Sacaran Los Ojos
Warsaw techno checks in with this beauty on DJ/producer Jacek Sienkiewicz’s excellent label. Sienkiewicz’s unlikely named fellow Pole Ara?a puts a bit of percussive grind into a Robert Hood-ish melodic style by either crunching it with high-register hits or tossing in yawning bass tones. In short, he knows what he’s doing in the hard-minimalist realm.
Disssent Bleeding Together Remixed
San Francisco label Wide Hive leaves left-of-center jazz groove band Dissent’s centerpiece jam in the hands of two capable producers. Om Records act Kaskade brings a soulful house re-rub, while NY hip-hopper DJ Eli gives it a prize Afrobeat treatment, with extra keyboard lines, funky horns and extra percussion.
Dash Dude Regular Pleasures EP
Dash Dude brings us some tracky vocals, deep groves and glitch house jams with this EP. Though I don’t speak any French”m definitely doing some really funky moves, like the French woman tells me to do on “A Hard Day’s Night,” which-along with “Assugreen”-is dancey as all get-out. On the flip we have two more gems: “Similarly Different” is a tweaky, glitchy microhouse piece, while “Do You like Lemons…” is on the deeper tip. Perlon and Playhouse fans should check this EP out for sure.
Ben Neville The Norris Division Sucked EP
Ben Nevile is the man! This Canadian sound engineer knows where to scratch you in that special spot, and boy does it feel good. On Telegraph’s ninth release, Nevile presents three sweet tracks from exotic house to minimal dub-techno, including amazing deep grooves and funky polyrhythms, which simply command you to bump or shimmy around the room. Not to be missed.
XRAY Monsta Mixes 2
Arguably the most lyrically devastating crew in hip-hop today, the Monsta Island Czars have evolved from mysterious MF Doom associates to an unstoppable rap powerhouse. Building on the success of their classic debut Escape From Monsta Island, chief beat-maker Xray hits us with another 20-track collection featuring remixes, exclusive new joints, and unearthed gems from the vaults. There’s not a bad track on here, from the hypnotic guitar-laced jump-off Witchcraft Remix” to the subdued closer “Covert Op” by Darcmind. With team captain Jet Jaguar back from upstate, and multiple solo albums on deck, the Czars’s takeover is just beginning.
