There are few labels on a bigger roll than Luaka Bop. David Byrne, label honcho, has a fully relative concept with his global jukebox worldview. And Mimi, an artful, diva- driven trip- hop act, are his latest development. So... what? Another Portishead? Laika? Massive Attack? Er... no. While Soak is hard evidence of those bands' direct influence on Mimi, this record is an entirely different experience.

Let's see here now... We've got Mimi Goese on vocals and a guy named Hahn Rowe who's credited with being the "mastermind." That sounds about right. Rowe changes musical genres like a chameleon changes colors. The production goes from drum-n-bass ("Believer"), to Clockwork- lounge (a cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun") to ethereal haunt ("Milky Way"). It's diverse, alright.

Soak is thick with influence, and dense with rich textures of different color. It's almost as if they were born from Byrne's unreasonably elastic musical mind, a true testament to the overused "eclectic."

-Susan Moll