Mr. Bean II
Angela 3
Music Times
Cibbuano
TyronneBasement Jaxx crank up the radio
October 23rd 2006 00:13
Three years after "Kish Kash"
and Basement Jaxx have released their fourth studio album, "Crazy Itch Radio,"
to mixed criticism. So far, the album has performed pretty poorly, peaking at only no. 70 on the ARIA Album Charts in Australia, but that doesn't retract from its quality. The album is very up and down, but for the most part is quite enjoyable.
and the relatively conservative dance mixes of their debut "Remedy,"
such as Red Alert. The result is quite astounding, only slightly clubby and much more like pop then the dance they have been known for in the past.The vast majority of the album follows in a similar strain, smooth female vocals against varying instrumentation, from the brass-heavy base of Hush Boy to the zitar of Take Me Back to Your House. The only things alluding to the duo remaining club DJs are the heavy bass riffs and the ocassional backbeat, such as that in Take Me Back to Your House. For the most part, however, it is usually the interspersed interludes and abnormal intros that feature those allusions.
The first three songs are solid, poppy and enjoyable. However, by the end of the Hey You it becomes increasingly clear that it is building up to a rather random climax, and it finds itself in Run 4 Cover, the ultimate failure of the album. I don't think there is a more British song anywhere in the world - within the period of one interlude, the duo manage to transform the smooth female vocals of the preceding tracks into heavily accented British female rap. It almost sounds like a mash-up of dialogue from Little Britain.
Smoke Bubbles turns it down a notch, but after the horror that was Run 4 Cover, is ultimately unmemorable. Nevertheless, it slowly leads into the second portion of the album, a slower and definitely more gentle section. Lights Go Down somehow manages to pull off normally harsh synthesised effects within an otherwise chillout song. For the first minute, Everybody sounds like it is going to follow in the same footsteps as the earlier tracks of the album, but quickly becomes the poppiest and definitely most radio-friendly song on the album.
The album begins to fizzle out in the last two tracks, Keep Keep On a very unmemorable song and sounding more like an afterthough than anything else. U R On My Mind is almost the male-vocal counterpart to Lights Go Down, another chillout song that again incorporates some harsh synthesiser effects, though manage to pull it off with the help of a strong strings base.
The album surprisingly ages quite well but unfortunately carries a few too many weaknesses for comfort. The abundance of interludes and unnecessary intros make the album sound too broken up and interrupts from the real music. Other critics have suggested that established fans of the duo would enjoy this album, but I'm not so sure - its very different from previous works, and its probably a sign that the duo are changing direction somewhat, despite constant claims that they are indefinitely tied to the British club scene. For the most part, I actually prefer their earlier works.
Official Site
Myspace Profile
Last.Fm Profile
| 92 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Aaron
How are you finding Blogcritics.org? It's a great place isn't it?
Have you been able to request any materials? I set up a G-mail account just for incoming mail from the Blogcritics Yahoo Group. Man they get soooo much stuff. And if you're the first to request it, it's yours to review and keep.
It's really cool.
Aaron.
Comment by Jimbo