Hybrid vigor
John R. Hodgkinson | 01/23/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Lamb has come a long way from the psychotic be-bop of their first album. Now we have tracks centered around fetal heartbeat (What Sound) and angelic life partners (Gabriel). Chilling out is not the same thing as giving in, however. Lamb still straddles jazz and electronics in a musical, perceptive, and quirky way.
On "Lamb vs Cosmos: What Sound" Tom Middleton (of Global Communication fame) weighs in with congas straight from The Groove. The Hefner Mix is strangely offbeat-free but still manages to swing. The Veena Harlem Mix features pitch-quantizing to a disco strut - what a novel concept (as long as nobody tells Daft Punk's lawyers). On the purely sensual side, Lou Rhodes' voice shines throughout, whatever bizarre electronic treatment it receives. An extreme example is the standout Si Beggs 5.1 Futures Remix, where a free hand with the time-shifter knobs only goes to show how stunning her original voice can be."