A new twist for trip-hop
07/20/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I was into this disc right away. The beats and hooks are fresh and original. Some pretty good rapping cameos from Masta Ace and J-Zone and other vocal touches augment the instrumental(sample/scratch/break-only) tracks for a well-balanced album. I liked the various jazzy horn and classical string flourishes; they never sounded tacked on but felt right at home in the grooves. I thought "Pounds for Dollars" and "Awakenings" were pretty weak, and this album doesn't quite rise to the level of a Massive Attack or Morcheeba cd, but most of the disc is a solid step forward for trip hop with some imaginative musical ideas. I'm predicting a long life in the cd player for this one..."