Thievery Corporation
Sounds From The Thievery Hi-Fi
[4AD]
Rating: 7.6
It's obvious that the Thievery Corporation considers themselves somewhat
loungy-- a part of the space-age bachelor pad movement. But they're far
more advanced than that; this is lounge music from the 21st century.
There's no trace of typical lounge music elements (e.g. xylophones,
quirky, jingly melodies, nutty maracas); instead, the groop plays
laid-back electronic grooves in the vein of Air and Neotropic.
Ethereal keyboard sounds ride comet-style on the tail of hip-hop
beats creating a soundscape as pleasant to listen to as old Miles
Davis records, despite the fact there's not a jazz sample to be
found here. Rather, it's just this type of thing that could arguably
be called "the new jazz."
So to sum things up, you could say that Sounds From The Thievery
Hi-Fi is more interesting than lounge music will ever be, and
twice as danceable. Get on your feet, boy!
-Ryan Schreiber