This month, we review CDs from Ming & FS, The Orb, Lou Reed, Puretone, Chi Glassic and Temmora.
Artist: Ming & FS
Title: Subway Series
Label: Om Records
Rating: 2 1/2
Ming & FS are the guys in the Nissan Altima commercial, the ones sampling their car and then making a song out of it. Why bring this up? Because even though Subway Series, the duo's third album, is composed of original material created for this album and not for an advertising agency, it sure sounds like it could be. In an age where selling out is desirable and "commercial music" has taken on an entirely different meaning, it's no surprise that a group like Ming & FS -- straight off the streets of New York with the attitude to prove it -- should sound like such a commodity. Not that it's pop, as that would imply hooks and a certain amount of listenability; Subway Series' downfall lies in the fact that each song sounds good for 30 seconds and then never develops. Are we destined to experience electronic music in commercial runtime soundbites? Let's hope not. --Douglas Adams
Artist: The Orb
Title: Back To Mine
Label: DMC
Rating: 4
Retro cycles tend to look back two decades for inspiration. So, while we're currently mired in '80s flashback, a whole period of music, namely the '90s, goes unnoticed. I'm not talking about crap like the Spin Doctors, I'm talking about the proliferation of electronic music that occurred at the beginning of the Clinton decade, a boom that presaged not only the economic boom but the boom in technology that's given us so many laptop music creators. The Orb were at the forefront of this, chilling everyone out with their unique ambient house. The Orb's installment of Back To Mine (a compilation of tracks chosen to highlight a specific artist's listening habits) dips liberally into this time period, pulling tracks from techno luminaries B12 ("Interim"), the experimental Blue Calx ("Blue Calx"), and songstress Julie Cruise ("Falling," from the soundtrack to the TV show Twin Peaks). Let the '90s revival begin! --Douglas Adams
Artist: Lou Reed
Title: The Raven
Label: Reprise
Rating: 3
It must have been some mad seance that brought Lou Reed together with Edgar Allan Poe. They work (or re-work) on The Raven like long-time collaborators to create a wild, literary rock opera. There's as much theater as music in this magnum opus (two CDs, 36 tracks). Willem Dafoe and Steve Buscemi (faces made for radio) are perfect here, just as they are in almost everything they do on-screen, adding the necessary depth and oddball humor with their readings -- just listening to Buscemi say, "The Cask of Amontillado," is enough to make you chortle; but then maybe that's just me. There's comedy, poetry, melodrama and of course madness in this great American novel set to music. However, despite contributions from Amanda Plummer, Laurie Anderson and David Bowie, The Raven is more ambitious than successful and ultimately too wild for its own good . --Malcolm B.
Artist: Puretone
Title: Stuck in a Groove
Label: VS Records
Rating: 2 1/2
Electronica meets hip-hop meets trip-hop meets techno on Puretone's first full-length album, Stuck In A Groove. However, after one listen, one wonders if it would've been more appropriately titled Stuck in No Man's Land. Puretone main brain Josh Abrahams can't seem stick to one musical path so instead he chooses them all. Hip-hop stylings combined with Rhianna Kenny's breathy voice in "Lift Me Up," as promised, lifts you up. Travel down another lyrical road with "Echoes," a tune reminiscent of trip-hop idols Morcheeba, but with a harder, edgier beat. And lucky us, Puretone's breakthrough electronic hit "Addicted To Bass" is also thrown in. All good songs, yes, but the lack of focus is disruptive. One for the varied listener. --Ella Ngo
Artist: Various Artists
Title: Chi Glassic Vol. 2: Crash & Carry
Label: Cup of Chi
Rating: 4
All this talk of a "global village" seems like crap most of the time -- no matter how worldwide it seems things are, most of the media we're exposed to come from between our own shores (or possibly Britain). When something finally leaks through, it's like manna from heaven. Chi Glassic Vol. 2: Crash & Carry, a compilation of electronic music from the Hungarian label Cup of Chi, is as heavenly as they come. At once familiar and yet subtly strange, like a Hollywood movie dubbed in another language, Crash & Carry presents 13 tracks of primarily breakbeat-driven dance music that's just different enough from what you'll hear in the clubs to make you sit up and go, ""What are they feeding them in Eastern Europe?" Cord's "Presence" reworks the trip-hop sound into something more sinuous, while Modul featuring Busha's "Boomstickie" amps up a human beatbox and marries it to the nastiest bass line you'll ever hear. The real treat is AMB's "Romeo," an epic, progressive tune that makes brilliant use of orchestral samples and a subdued guitar. This is very special stuff indeed. Visit www.chi-recordings.com for more. --Douglas Adams
Artist: Temmora
Title: Talk to Me
Label: Levy Entertainment Group
Rating: 3 1/2
Competitors know Temmora, now the rest of the world needs to get clued in. This songtress was at the 2002 USACi Finals where she blew away the competition, namely V Ice, or whatever he calls himself these days. Like a lot of RnB singers, Temmora has a gospel background, evidenced by her cloud-piercing vocal. And she proudly includes an inspirational number, "Mary Did You Know," on her new CD Talk to Me. But don't be misled. The rest of the material on the disc is a great collection of secular grooves and love songs. The production quality could have been better, but the quality of Temmora's vocal performances more than make up for it. Look for her on the larger stage, this girl deserves to be heard. --Beat