PROPELLERHEADS - DECKSANDRUMSANDROCKANDROLL
DECKSANDRUMSANDROCKANDROLL the somewhat absurdly named debut album from Bath, England's Propellerheads is - simply put - quite amazing. Take California, the discs opening track is immediately danceable while also alluding to political corruption. (The state of California is offered to someone as a momento.) Velvet Pants manages to capture the same feeling of hallucinogenic beatuy as was present in the Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds by sampling bits of conversation from a stoned-sounding girl talking about music, clubs and yes, velvet pants. 360 degrees (Oh Yeah?) features both the sounds of somebody skateboarding as well as the vocal talents of De La Soul, a combination you won't find on any other album anywhere, I guarantee. As good as nearly all the songs on this album are, of particular note is the fantastic History Repeating which features Miss Shirley Bassey. Propellerheads provide a sort of psuedojazz / nightclub feeling while Miss Bassey wraps her incredible voice around lyrics mocking retro styles. I actually got goosebumps listening to her voice against the heady vibe of the Propellerheads' musical style. I'll say it again: fantastic! Other songs such as On Her Majesty's Secret Service foray into a more orchestral sound which, again is supported and enhanced by the Propellerheads' skills on the sampler. (Like Spybreak!, On Her Majesty's sounds like it wants very badly to be background music to a chase scene in a James Bond film.) For the final song, You Want it Back, Propellerheads are joined by Jungle Brothers and the result is something that - had it been released on the Death Row label or something - could rejuvenate the now almost hopelessly stale Hip-Hop industry. As with History Repeating, Propellerheads chameleon-like ability manages to merge flawlessly with the skills of their guest artists. Brilliant. On an unrelated note, I'd just like to say that DECKSANDRUMSANDROCKANDROLL also boasts the most impressive album cover I've seen in a looong time. There's a big explosion. It looks like something out of a Tarantino film. To summarize: buy this album!!!
This album is so cool you MUST buy it today!!!
go
to CDNOW to check it out!
Review by Aram at: Frames Per Second
Main/A-C/ D-F / G-I / J-L / M-O / P-R / S-U / V-X / Y-Z /All Bands