Music review
John Digweed is a deceptive guy. The renowned DJ originally from England can build a compilation disc from a subdued little shuffle to a full rolling rhythm without a listener noticing his methodical escalation of intensity.
Such is the case of his new electro/ouse “MMII,” a 10-song, continuous-play disc that opens with the quiet “Pollon” by Lonely Planet – a film-score-sounding instrumental with a nice groove and little else.
From that uneventful start, Digweed slowly adds layers: Pole Folder & CP’s subliminal “Dust” introduces vocals. Then Bermuda Triangle’s “Mooger Fooger” offers churning moments swirled around free-flowing stretches of floatation.
Then Sean Q6’s “Of Course” carries more heft to its rhythms, more life to its vocals.
By the fifth track – Flash Brothers’ “Protect the Sense” – “MMII” is cruising along on throbbing vibrations and spacey vocals before slowing up again, temporarily
By the time the disc clips through Shakespear’s Sister’s “Black Sky” (presented in a previously unreleased mix by Underworld) and James Holden’s “I Have Put Out the Light,” there’s a strange excitement flowing through the surprisingly aggressive atmosphere.
This 71-minute evolution of sound happens so gradually that anyone listening might be stunned at the progression if they started at the first track and then fast-forwarded to the later songs.
Digweed’s method well represents one school of thought for electronic-beat compilations, and those who need a more stimulating attack will fidget, fret and otherwise be distracted by songs that hang up in redundant grooves and occasionally carry on for more than 8 or 9 minutes each.
Although the programmer eventually gets to an intense form of hypnosis, it might be a good idea to have something else going on while listening, just to fill in the gaps between transitions.
Rating: 3
“All Sides,” LMNT
LMNT’s “All Sides” is a weak debut, though the group has a great story.
Two years ago, ABC-TV’s reality show “Making the Band” followed a group of young men on their quest to be chosen for a new boy band. Ikaika Kahoano was among those to make the final cut, but before he became a member of O-Town, he bailed on the idea and fled home to Hawaii.
Well, O-Town was inexplicably successful, and later Kahoano was asked by “Making the Band” semi-finalists Bryan Chan and Mike Miller to form a vocal group with them. They picked up a fourth singer, Jonas Persch, and LMNT was born.
The group’s new “All Sides” is at least as good as O-Town’s self-titled debut, if not better. That isn’t saying much: “O-Town” was one of the most meritless albums of 2001. What’s more, LMNT is trying to launch itself when boy bands have fallen out of favor. (Are they retro yet?)
Yet here is “All Sides,” in all its pre-fab, frivolous glory. An army of experienced producers slather on the gloss for the four nondescript singers, and as infinitely inconsequential as the release is, it’s only offensively bad on the schlocky ballad “The Best” and the overprocessed cuts “Keep It Coming” and “Hold Me Down.”
There aren’t any particularly good moments to talk about, but the fluffy “Girl Crazy” and well-constructed, mid-tempo “Running Home” are OK for what they are. Ditto the “Get It All” that sounds like vintage Michael Jackson and the cluttered single “Juliet” that strives for a rock edge.
“All Sides” is a modestly serviceable retread of the boy band sound we’ve been hearing for years, and these guys are going to need luck if it’s going to work for them.
Rating: 2
(Chuck Campbell is the entertainment editor at the News-Sentinel in Knoxville, Tenn.)
(Contact Chuck Campbell of The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee at http://www.knoxnews.com.)