Ever since Portishead released Dummy, it seems like everyone wants to say, "They sound like Portishead, sort of." Well, I listen to those bands and few sound like Portishead, but most share common traits: a creative, minimalist musical style that combines aspects of mellower electronica and beat, with a splash (shaken, not stirred) of sampling and usually some laid-back female vocals. That aptly describes A Normal Family, but it ain't Portishead.

Baby Fox's album definitely shakes (not stirs). Crowded in parts with obscure background sounds and mumbled vocals, and sparsely haunting in others, it possesses a decidedly Gavin Friday-ish levity that lays a fart just when you're cocking the hammer to blow your head off. Including a cover of T.Rex's "Girl," it makes for a well-balanced (though generally dark) recording. Ass-quaking bass mingles with unexpected static, funky trumpets, wah-wah samples, bloops and bleeps. Great for watching the rain by.

-James P. Wisdom