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| Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio | When you get older some things start to move more slowly and others stop working quite as well as they used to. Basement Jaxx’s Felix Burton and Simon Ratcliffe let three years pass in between studio releases. Fans looked up to see an aging pair where a once energetic duo used to stand. Apparently fatigue infiltrates musical stamina as well.
Memorable, socially penetrating bangers “Red Alert” and “Where’s Your Head At?” made a name for Basement Jaxx in both their house scene and arenas elsewhere as well. The duo mixed and mashed tracks and loops of other artists, their own inspired creations, and unbridled energy to spit out some of the most brashly rapid tracks of their time. Their Kish Kash even won a Grammy. This all went down in relatively recent memory, but just a few years apparently significantly lowered the energy level of the two not so young men. Of course, Crazy Itch Radio still pounds and thumps away at a system markedly more speedily than the vast majority of recent releases; in comparison to the Jaxx catalogue though it seems to decelerate significantly.
An epic chant of borderline Gregorian status more commands the listener to stand at attention rather than sit back, relax, and enjoy the show as the album begins. The second track and first single, “Hush Boy,” proves infinitely more welcoming. Frantic horns, electronic blips, and old school R&B vocal patterns showcase the versatility of the group. In fact, each track seems to offer up a unique bit to further exhibit impressive flexibility. Whereas such exercises seemed almost pretentious and showy on previous efforts, here the more relaxed beat works beautifully with the amalgamation of styles present. “Skillalude” brings a grime element in the absence of Dizzee Rascal on this go round, pop star Lily Allen fills out Lights Go Down,” and “Take Me Back to Your House” gives off an Indian disco type of vibe. So goes the randomness of Basement Jaxx’s latest.
Although decidedly less hyper inundated in spastic musical redirections in the middle of their songs here, Basement Jaxx remains satisfactorily quirky, interesting, and unique. “Hey U” loiters aimlessly and toys and tinkers with an amalgamation of styles as if to reassure listeners of the crew’s persisting ability to shift things about sonically. They use the same instruments as in earlier efforts both on this and preceding CDs, but the rhythm and noises created form a shockingly new overall sound. In fact, here the versatility comes off as less forced and initially overwhelming as on previous outputs. As a result it also fails to exhaust the listener quite as soon.
That said, Crazy Itch Radio seems to miss a little something: that extra spark or special ingredient which vaults a disc from “good” to “great.” To a large extent the group’s newfound structure helps them out; however, perhaps the excessive leap from outlandishly radical to marginally controlled hinders their ability to ultimately leave the mark of a true masterpiece. Scaling back on the restraint and letting loose a bit more of that trademark Basement Jaxx flair seems a probably method to ensure a remarkable end product.
Of course Basement Jaxx kicked out yet another enjoyable CD. Perhaps they in their middle-aged state keep still or shuffle awkwardly about when their jams pulse through club stereos nowadays, but the hits definitely still harness enough spunk to get the rest of us jumping. |
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Displaying posts 1 - 5 of 5. |
05:52 AM on 11/10/06 | Not really relevant to this review but since Mr Tate will probably read this anyway, here's a suggestion: We already have these fancy profiles for each user here but wouldn't it be great if you can filter out content by genres? Say you could tick punk, metal, hardcore, emo and untick rnb, hip hop, pop and electronic music. Would make the visits much more pleasing | | |
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12:35 PM on 11/10/06 | Not really relevant to this review but since Mr Tate will probably read this anyway, here's a suggestion: We already have these fancy profiles for each user here but wouldn't it be great if you can filter out content by genres? Say you could tick punk, metal, hardcore, emo and untick rnb, hip hop, pop and electronic music. Would make the visits much more pleasing |
I'll see about that. | | |
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12:43 PM on 11/12/06 | Or just a filter for greg dona's reviews  | | |
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02:09 PM on 11/15/06 | I think one of the things I like best about AP.net is that it delves into different categories of music from time to time, while keeping punk/emo/metal/rock/indie/etc. at it's core. I guess that's because my tastes tend to overlap into different genres, I'm open to listening to new stuff I've never heard before, and I could never pick just one type as a favorite. Thanks for the review Greg, and for the use of the word "amalgamation." You can download a Quicktime player and listen to remixes of this album on the Basement Jaxx website ( http://www.crazyitchradio.com/)—some of which are better than the album cuts. My fave is "Everybody." | | |
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