Unkle
Psyence Fiction (Mo Wax)
James Lavelle and DJ Shadow's hip hop/electronic/alternative hybrid, Psyence Fiction, has a celebrity roster that would shame Hollywood Squares. DJ Shadow brings remarkable coherence to the material provided by varied performers including Mike D of the Beastie Boys and Metallica's Jason Newstead. The album's tone is surprisingly dark, but ultimately addicting.
Herbie Hancock
Gershwin's World (Verve)
Virtually every musicologist concedes that the African-American art form known as jazz wouldn't be where it is today without a Russian-American Jew named George Gershwin. Duke, Diz, Bird, and Miles all played him. Now pianist supreme and jazz giant Herbie Hancock offers his take. Enlisting such notables as Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell, Hancock navigates a very thoughtful project from the helm of a full-length grand, adding his colorful harmonic textures to an oeuvre known for its musical invention. The final track - a dynamic solo rendition of "Embraceable You" - stands firmly, a testament to both composer and interpreter as Hancock stacks lush, reharmonized voicings upon Gershwin's tasteful ode d'amour. Such sweet thunder.
Sebadoh
The Sebadoh (Sub Pop)
Let's state up top that Sebadoh's high-water mark is still 1994's Bakesale. But yes, there are lovely, tuneful songs here - scattered amongst solid, generic college rock. On their seventh album - not counting members' umpteen side projects - the group's multiple personality morphs through retro folk-rock ("Tree"), requisite Latin homage ("Cuban"), PC sound-collage pop ("Colorblind"), and eye-glazing guy-rock. Fact is, the mellower they play, the better they sound.
Cassius
1999 (Astralwerks)
Cassius's 1999 culminates a 10-year friendship that already claims numerous credits in France's much touted urban-music scene. Philipe Zdar and Hubert Blanc-Francart are best known as producers for seminal French rapper MC Solaar, but they are also favorites among house aficionados for their work in La Funk Mob.
Such regal blood does not disappoint on this album, which riffs off all that is fun in house, disco, and R&B. 1999 pops with funky bass lines, diva exultations, and deceptively simple grooves. If you're not hooked by the time "Hey Babe" begins, get off the dance floor.
Portishead
PNYC (Go! Beat/London)
Recorded live with a 35-piece orchestra at NYC's Roseland Ballroom, PNYC represents a thaw in the mournful chill of Portishead's scratchy sci-fi trip hop. From the retro sounds of "Humming" to the big-band-in-a-graveyard beat of "All Mine," when the strings and horns rub up against the tremulous vocals of Beth Gibbons, it sparks a seductive soulfulness. Just call it Suite for Ouija Board.
Firesign Theatre
Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death (Rhino)
Back in the late '60s, Firesign Theatre earned a rep as comedic avant-gardists with a wicked countercultural edge. And while the troupe's acid-flashback pop commentary has worn thin over time, there's something nostalgically ambitious about their new undertaking.
The setting is a radio station broadcasting on December 31, 1999, as the countdown to Y2K unfolds. "Radio Now" goes through a format change every three minutes, but none of the millennium-bound radio hosts notice. The group hasn't been as funny since the drugs wore off, but its heart is in the right place.
\&$161;Cubanismo!
Reencarnaciòn (Rykodisc)
Originally conceived as a one-shot, all-star recording project, &$161;Cubanismo! has evolved into the neotraditionalist voice of Cuban music. On Reencarnaciòn, they demonstrate their stunning blend of jazz, mambo, son, guaracha, and other traditional forms. Led by Jesùs Alemañy's smoking trumpet, they prove just how sexy Cuban music can be.
Kronos Quartet
25 Years (Nonesuch)
Arguably the most important new-music ensemble of our time, Kronos Quartet celebrates its 25th anniversary with this stunning 10-CD set. Kronos revitalized the string-quartet genre, commissioning and premièring some 400 pieces. The quartet's repertoire includes work by acclaimed classical composers as well as Jimi Hendrix, Ornette Coleman, and Muddy Waters, not to mention unclassifiable musicians like John Zorn.
Their execution of Reich's "Different Trains," with its precise metric shifts and relentless rhythms, is breathtaking. The otherworldly sonorities of George Crumb's bizarre "Black Angels" are subtle, brilliant, and electrifying. This extraordinary set only scratches the surface of what Kronos has wrought.
STREET CRED
Now You're Cooking
Grand Unified Remote Theory
Pocket Pix
Hidden Agenda
Living Up to the Legend
Machine Man
The World at Your Fingertips
The Wrath of Goddess
Music
Just Outta Beta
ReadMe
MAXpowr, MINprice
Hack Dreams
Rules, Schmules - It's Thought-Provoking
Service by Andrette
From Gear to Eternity
Contributors
